Building Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Skills

Ferrets and Friends, LLC was founded by Alex, a licensed social worker.  We believe in teaching empathy and helping children build the skills that they need to have good relationships and navigate the world around them.

Children benefit by learning basic skills through interactions with animals.  They learn to read body language, foster empathy, and respect boundaries.  In our Social/Emotional Programs, we focus on one concept using an appropriate animal model.  For example, one reason that chameleons change colors is to express their mood.  We can tell how a chameleon is feeling by looking at the colors and patterns that they display.  We encourage kids to consider what physical changes might indicate how they are feeling.  What color would they be if they were a chameleon?  These exercises build emotional awareness which is an important step in engaging in self-regulation.  

Our animal friends make learning fun and memorable!  Consider inviting our friends to your school, summer camp, or other educational organization. 

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Program Packages

 Each program features one educator, one to three animals (depending on species and theme), and supplies for the lesson.  Each lesson includes an introduction, warm-up exercise, concept lesson, meeting the animals, and time for sharing and reflection.  Travel fees may apply for locations that are greater than 25 miles from Baltimore, MD.

One Single Lesson: $180
Half Day of Lessons: $350
Full Day of Lessons: $550

If you book our multi-day program, discounts may apply.  Lessons can be provided for a full week or you can ask us to return for the same day of the week and time over multiple weeks. Please see below for an example of our multi-day curriculum.

Lesson Day	Concept & Animal	Implementation with the Animal Model
Day One	Fear/Curiosity ​Ferrets	Using the Competing Behavior Pathway Model, students will learn how to foster curiosity in the face of stressors.  Ferrets are very curious creatures and an excellent introduction into a week of learning
Day Two	Emotional Awareness ​Chameleons	Building on the concepts of Emotional Intelligence, students will learn to develop emotional awareness which promotes self regulation.  Lizards such as chameleons are able to change color to express their mood.
Day Three	Body Language ​Snakes	Students will learn about nonverbal and paraverbal communication in order to build their social skills.  Snakes have very simple body language that easy for children to understand when the animal is comfortable or uneasy.
Day Four	Healthy Boundaries ​Hedgehog	Learning how to respect consent and boundaries is an important skill for navigating any relationship.  Our prickly friend, the hedgehog, will help students learn more about this important topic.
Day Five	Communication ​Parrots	Communication is putting together both the intrapersonal or emotional skills and the interpersonal or social skills.  Even though some of our parrots can talk, there is more to communication than just what is being said.

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