WHAT DOES THE PRE-K ACTIVITIES TEAM DO?
Our work focuses on developing social-emotional skills in Pre-K children at the school. Through storytelling, movement activities, and artistic expression, we help children recognize, understand, and embrace the emotions and feelings they experience.
By providing playful, practical tools, we guide them to identify and manage their emotions in a healthy and productive way. At the same time, we emphasize the importance of self-care and encourage each child to see the beauty and inner light they carry within.
The school already has a strong foundation in supporting social-emotional development, and our efforts build on this solid groundwork. Our goal is to plant a seed for them to cultivate self-awareness, foster emotional resilience, and believe in their full potential as they grow.
PRE-K ACTIVITES LEAD'S MESSAGE
I’m very happy to continue my journey with Kids in Distress Auxiliary, where I’ve been working with a wonderful team since the beginning of the year. Together, we are deeply committed to helping the Pre-K children develop the skills they need to grow emotionally and socially.
With 20 years of experience as a therapist, I’m grateful for the chance to bring some of what I’ve learned into this new space. But what has truly inspired me is the love and light these children already carry. Through our time together, we don’t just teach—they teach us too. It’s a beautiful exchange of learning and growth.
I believe love is the most powerful force in the world. When we share our love and encourage these children to love themselves and others, we’re not only building their confidence, but also planting the seeds for a brighter, more compassionate future. The more we shine, the more we allow others to shine, and that’s the ripple effect I hope to create.
Thank you for supporting our mission. Together, we’re bringing joy, hope, and strength to these children, one day at a time.
Teca Machado, Pre-K Activities Lead
A LITTLE BIT OF WHAT WE DO
2024
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September |
This month, our amazing volunteers focused on helping Pre-K kids to recognize and understand their feelings. It was extremely important for them to connect with their emotions early on so they could learn to handle them as they grew. To introduce the subject, we read "In My Heart," a book with beautiful illustrations on emotions. After that, the kids decorated their own hearts and shared how they were feeling. They were super excited and really into it, making for an awesome morning and a great start to their class! |
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| October |
This month we began our morning warm up by placing a toy spider in the middle of our circle, which instantly got the children excited. They felt a mix of fear and curiosity—afraid at first but eager to touch it. By the end, each of them had conquered that initial fear! Our Halloween activity focused on understanding compound emotions—how Halloween often brings both fear and excitement. We started with circle time, where each child shared their biggest Halloween fear and excitement. Then, each decorated their own pumpkin with expressive faces: each side showed one of these emotions. Afterward, we played a Halloween twist on duck-duck-goose, called “Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Skeleton,” which they absolutely loved! To finish up, each child got a Halloween themed wind-up toy. Everyone wound up their toy, then set it off, symbolizing how we can let go of our fears. It was a fun and meaningful Halloween morning for everyone! |
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| November | This month, we read “Go Away, Big Green Monster!” and worked together to tell the green monster to go away. The kids were highly engaged as they shared their fears and talked about their own “monsters.” Together, we brainstormed creative strategies to send those monsters away. One of the staff members brought a stuffed animal monster from his office and shared that it was there to protect his space. This sparked a thoughtful conversation about how monsters may seem scary at first, but once we get to know them, our perspective can change. Afterwards, each of the kids created their own personal monster, sharing whether it was friendly, scary, or somewhere in between. We ended the day with a meditation called “Melting Our Fears.” The meditation helped us explore how fear can sometimes make us feel frozen, and we practiced a calming exercise to imagine those fears melting away. It was a wonderful experience, filled with meaningful lessons about facing fears with curiosity and courage. |