In My Skin | Brianna Woolford
In My Skin is an Emotional Intelligence Program designed to teach and promote emotional regulation and communication skills by creating positive relationships among kids aged 5 - 10. In My Skin is based in Baltimore, Maryland, and run by the young and ambitious Brianna Woolford. Brianna has a background in early childhood education, and after teaching for four years, has set out to run In My Skin full time. In My Skin started by offering programming at a local church, welcoming any youth who wanted to join.
Brianna hosted her first official five-week In My Skin program this summer. In collaboration with The Village Learning Place, Brianna met with kids twice a week for five consecutive weeks, teaching them self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. She taught two groups, one pre-K and kindergarten group and one first and second-grade group. Each group had 10 to 15 students. Brianna guided the groups through fun interactive lessons, made crafts, and provided a list of resources and games for students to take home and share with their families.
Brianna was inspired to start In My Skin after seeing the intense social effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on young kids. As a new teacher, she met many of her students for the first time over Zoom. Once back in the classroom, she noticed that many students would only interact with their teachers and were shy and reserved around other students. Many young kids lacked the skills to interact with peers or healthily regulate their emotions.
“While teaching, I noted some problems like a lack of safe spaces to explore and cultivate identities, kids feeling disconnected and uncertain about belonging, and a lack of confidence and social-emotional development. There was so much isolation from being alone during the pandemic, and then students had to go back to school and be around people.”
According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, “Children with higher emotional intelligence are better able to pay attention, are more engaged in school, have more positive relationships, and are more empathic.” Brianna hopes to create a program that offers kids a safe place to express themselves and explore their emotions.
Like many cities across the country, Baltimore has experienced increased youth violence rates in the past few years. “I am hoping that in a program like this, kids will learn at a young age to cope with their emotions, regulate, and talk to people better.” Through increased emotional intelligence, Brianna hopes that the youth she works with will positively impact their community and be able to share their skills with their peers.
When Brianna was a kid, she was very shy and kept to herself. As a young girl, she attended an acting and modeling school that greatly helped with self-expression and development. She learned to be more expressive, open, and loving. She wants to expand on what she learned and offer this kind of education and support to kids at an early age. Brianna believes that starting to work on emotional intelligence at a young age can combat some of the mental health issues so many young people and adults deal with today.
How are you leveraging your Let’s Choose Love funds?
Brianna used her Let’s Choose Love funds to support her summer In My Skin program. Thanks to the financial support from Let’s Choose Love, Brianna was able to offer the five-week emotional intelligence program at the Village Learning Place for free. She was also able to purchase supplies and educational materials for her class and even do a bit of advertising to raise awareness about the In My Skin program.
In the next year, Brianna plans to share her program with the City Council and schools to help spread awareness of the power of emotional regulation and its positive effects on youth.
