Sociable Kidz, a center that offers socialization classes in Mamaroneck, now teaches preschoolers and teenagers the social skills necessary to be successful adults. Preschoolers learn cooperation, good sportsmanship, and how to develop conversation and listening skills. Teenagers learn to take a stand against bullying, and how to choose friends wisely and deal with stress related to school.
Sociable Kidz has expanded its class schedule and now offers a 10-week course for preschoolers and an eight-week course for teenagers. Each group learns basic social skills and how to work through negative interactions such as tempers, tattling, and bullying.
“We focus daily on problem solving strategies, as well as teaching kids how to make friends, how to make eye-contact, and how to share—social skills that are necessary in order for children as well as adults to be successful in society,” owner Susan Hendler says.
The preschool classes, limited to five children, run Thursdays from 4:15-5pm and Saturdays from 9:15-10am. The children learn to share and cooperate with others and develop conversation and listening skills through hands-on activities, playground interaction, role-play, literature, and games.
The teen courses, limited to six students, are held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5-6pm. Teenagers are taught to reach for independence and learn how to take a stand against bullying, choose friends wisely, and deal with stress related to school, all while working as a group.
Hendler says she also wants caregivers involved in the socialization process “to ensure that the skills being taught are being applied.”
