This past June, Brid Martin, Marina Ituarte, Peggy Kuhs and I, Emma Lavecchia, had the incredible opportunity to travel to Mexico and represent Pine Village Preschool at two amazing events. The spirit of our visit was centered on the work we do around Social Emotional Learning in early childhood, and sharing the methods we use at Pine Village to support children’s emotional well-being and growth. We thought we would share our experience today on the blog!
Our Pine Village Social Emotional Learning (SEL) team which consists of Marina Ituarte and Peggy Kuhs, submitted a proposal to present, and were selected to share our work at a conference of educators at the City Universidad Iberoamericana, in Mexico City. The conference participants consisted of those who are spearheading the SEL initiative in Mexico, educators and other leaders in the Dept of Education in Mexico.
Peggy and Marina created a presentation
describing the work our PVP educators have created to make their classrooms
rich in emotional support and learning. They showcased the techniques we use in
our classrooms, as well as our training procedures and the progress we have
made in developing our SEL program.
This was an incredible opportunity
to meet and learn from others who are passionate about social emotional
education and to form alliances with partners in our field within the Spanish
culture that makes Pine Village so special.
We were received with open arms and held in high regard, making
connections that will support continued collaboration in years to come.
In the days after the conference we had the amazing opportunity to meet with the Dean of the Dept of Education at the University, Hilda Patiño Domínguez and had an exciting conversation about the work we do in Boston at Pine Village, and potential ways we can collaborate in learning and professional development for our staff. The University has programs in California where their teaching students complete practicums and work in schools that support their programs. We spoke about exchange programs and sharing practicum opportunities among other exciting possibilities. We’re looking forward to sharing all of these amazing new opportunities as we continue our planning together.
Later, in our 6-day whirlwind tour, we traveled north, to Queretaro, where we visited an incredible school called Evergreen. Yes, there are so many similarities in our programs including the names of our schools. Evergreen is a ground breaking private school that has been touted as one of the best schools in the world that supports mindfulness, social emotional learning and a high quality of education for children preschool to middle school.
More on our Evergreen experience in the next Blog…there is so much to share about that visit!
Needless to say our trip was incredible, educational, emotional, inspiring and simply a gift we will hold close in our hearts and minds forever. Brid and I know the amazing ripple effects of these experiences in Mexico will impact our offering at Pine Village in the short-term but also in the long-term as we continue to grow and evolve.
We look forward to sharing more with you in the weeks to come!