The focus of the Stop & Think curriculum is to teach children interpersonal, personal, problem solving and conflict resolution skills and routines necessary to interact positively and safely, and manage their behavior responsibly and independently. The program is strength based and focuses on what we want children to do versus what we do not want them to do. Stop & Think is designed for children in 1st – 6th grade. Students develop skills like:

• Listening
• Following directions
• Avoiding trouble
• Making good choices
• Dealing with losing

Too Good For Violence focuses on how to build positive peer relationships while teaching youth how to recognize specific developmental and environmental risks, with an emphasis on preventing youth violence. Too Good For Violence is designed for middle school and high school students.

• Helps children bond with positive peers
• Provides information about the risks
• Builds skills that make growing up a little less risky and a lot more fun
• Uses role-playing, games and other age-appropriate activities to teach lessons
• Teaches strong character-based skills, attitudes and behaviors like conflict resolution, respect and effective communication

The Nurturing Parenting Program is evidence based and designed to build strong, healthy bonds between parents and their children. Program curriculum provides parents with effective behavior management tools and encourages the development of healthy parent-child relationships, so that families may face their unique challenges together. The program can be used in-home or at group sessions for children of all ages.

• Guiding families to become stronger, happier, and healthier by decreasing family conflict, family violence, abuse and neglect.
• Managing conflict & learning alternatives
• Establishing nurturing routines
• Reinforcing healthy family roles
• Understanding discipline
• Recognizing feelings & understanding stress

The Stop and Think Program teaches children the skills and behaviors needed to develop positive and safe relationships. When presenting the lessons to an entire classroom of students, the Skills Trainer may not always have the opportunity to hear directly from students about the day to day impact of each lesson topic or the effects of the program in each student’s personal life. Occasionally, the Skills Trainer is fortunate enough to get a first-hand perspective of the unique power and influence of Stop and Think and the impact on an individual student and his or her family members. The following is the story of a 5th grade student who, with her teachers’ permission, requested to speak with the eVIBE Skills Trainer individually. She shared that her father passed away when she was young and she now has a new father figure in her life. She feared losing the memory of her father, especially if she starts to connect with her new father figure. These fears resulted in animosity and angry feelings. In the Stop and Think class lesson entitled “Understanding Feelings,” this student learned steps to help identify feelings and manage them. Specifically, she learned to take deep breaths, count to five, calm down and recognize feelings. She referred to the emotions poster as a reference to identify feelings. She also learned to identify feelings based on her body’s reactions. She asked herself questions such as, “Is my heart beating fast, or is my face turning red?” Then, she would ask herself what made her feel that way. With these tools, this student was learning to identify and manage her feelings in a healthier, more positive way. She let the trainer know that not only was the Stop and Think Program fun, but she was learning a great deal. She also expressed that she felt the eVIBE Skills Trainer was helpful and caring. The program made a big difference in her life.