Introducing A Little SEL Creators
Colleen Thompson
Colleen has just retired after 35 years of teaching in both special education and general ed. Her last five years have been as a Social-Emotional Coach with PreK-Kindergarten and First Grade teachers. She is passionate about teaching young children the social and emotional skills that will help them lead peaceful, productive, healthy, and happy lives.
Rob Thompson
Rob has recently graduated from George Fox University in Cinematic Arts. He is excited to use his experience and skills in videography, voice acting, and music to create videos that help children learn about themselves, others, and how to be good friends.
Our Story
When the pandemic changed the way children attended school in the Tigard-Tualatin School District, Colleen had to pivot and figure out a way to support the teachers and their students as they navigated the challenges of learning online. The Puppet Pals emerged from this time. Teachers and students were able to watch the puppets experiencing scenarios in which they also found themselves. It created a way for kids to talk about their emotions, interact with peers and solve problems together. When her son, Rob, graduated in December 2020, he volunteered his time to bring the technological level of the videos to a much higher level. They have decided to continue this work, so that more children will have access to A Little SEL.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Little SEL helps teachers and families promote, teach and reinforce social and emotional skills with young children. When adults watch the daily videos with their children at home or in the classroom, they are provided with familiar characters dealing with scenarios similar to those that young children experience in their own lives. These videos become a catalyst for conversations, where children can make connections with the characters and discuss ways that they could solve similar problems. Within the context of the classroom, children can learn more about their peers, building their social awareness.
There are five SEL Competencies, and within each competency are a variety of target skills. Each week a new Competency will be highlighted on the homepage. The weekly blog post will discuss the importance of learning that skill and highlight ways that teachers and families can reinforce these skills.
1) There will be four videos with puppet scenarios followed by conversation prompts to discuss the skill.
2) Each week will have one bonus video. Here are the bonus topics:
A song: We write and perform a song reinforcing the target skill
Grannie’s Games: A fun brain break led by Grannie, reinforcing the target skill
Letters from Leaders: Children will be able to write the Puppet Pals with questions or suggestions. We will choose several letters to highlight in a video
Puppet Pal News: Kid reporters will interview several puppets to reinforce the skill of the week
What Would A Leader Do: A Game Show where host Peter Leader gives the Puppet Pals a scenario and they have to guess “What would a leader do?” The kids can join in in trying to answer the game show questions
3) There will be a poster that can be printed and displayed to reinforce the skill
4) There will be a compliment letter template that adults can write to children or children can write to others.
The homepage will highlight the Target Skill and accompanying lessons. It will link you to the correct competency page and lesson. Teachers can review the lessons the week before and use them the following week. When looking for a particular week of lessons, go to the correct competency and select the target lessons you want to use. All new lessons will be added to the lesson pages.
Just click the subscribe button and it will take you to the Subscribe page. Select the Subscription level you want, either the Single Instructor Subscription or the School and District Subscription. After you make your selection, it will take you to a page where you can enter your name, email and select a payment gateway or method of payment. You will then be sent a confirmation email and will be charged $9.95 monthly for a Single Instructor Subscription or $9.95 monthly for each classroom under the School and District Subscription.
No. For any purchase on A Little SEL your credit card information is handled entirely by the payment gateway or method of payment you choose. Our payment gateways are PayPal and Stripe. Your choice. Whether you pay directly with your credit card through Stripe or through your PayPal account, your financial information is completely secure and is NOT stored on this website.
Yes. The receipt will come through email from your payment gateway.
Yes. Just log in and go to the Subscription/Account page and edit your email address.
You will be billed monthly 30 days after your original registration.
Select the School and District Subscription to purchase multiple subscriptions for teachers or classrooms. You will be charged $9.95 for each teacher/classroom or “seat” and receive a link and a code to share with each teacher that allows the teacher to register without paying. As long as the School and District Subscription is continued the teachers will have access to all the lessons on A Little SEL.