FAQs

A free pre-K through 12th grade, evidence-based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program which gives students the skills to become more self-aware, to develop a positive attitude, and to choose love in any circumstance. Students learn that while we can’t always choose what happens to us, we can choose how to respond in every situation. The program also includes character development, neuroscience, mindfulness and positive psychology.  Students and their educators are empowered with an understanding that gives them self-control, personal responsibility and enables them to choose a loving path.

The curriculum contains the universal teachings of courage, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion in action – the foundational concepts of Social and Emotional Learning. The program helps children and adults acquire and apply knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary to manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy and compassion for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.

• Common Core (Pre-K through fifth grade as illustrated in a grid provided with the download)
• CASEL’s five core competencies (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making)
• American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Mindsets and Behaviors

The goal of the Choose Love Enrichment Program is to teach SEL and provide children with the knowledge, attitude and skills they need to choose love in any situation. These abilities include:

• Understanding and managing emotions (self-awareness and self-management)
• Setting and achieving positive goals
• Feeling and showing empathy and compassion for others (social awareness)
• Establishing and maintaining positive social relationships, and
• Making responsible decisions

More than 30 years of scientific research proves that children who had access to SEL curriculums grow into more successful and healthy adults. Overall they have a deeper sense of self, commitment to community and learned compassion for others. This results in lower violent crime and incarceration rates, alcohol and drug abuse, and instances of mental illness.

This program is for all educators who want to positively impact their students’ lives and improve their teaching practice and classroom climates. Our program has been used by regular classroom teachers, special area teachers (art, music, homeroom/advisory), school counselors, school social workers, school psychologists, intervention and support personnel, and other paraprofessionals.

It has been taught in individual classrooms, across grade levels as well as school-wide. It has been taught in regular classroom settings, through classroom guidance lessons, as well as in small groups. School counselors, social workers and psychologists may also find it useful to incorporate lesson content and skills taught in individual sessions with students. The Choose Love Enrichment Program can also be used in homeschool settings.

If you have questions or would like to adapt the program, please contact us at info@jesselewischooselove.org.

The program is all accessible online. You will register for the program online by giving us some basic information so we can track, communicate with, and support our users. After this, you will create a login so that you may easily access all materials now and in the future.

You will gain access to a wealth of free materials. This includes the Choose Love Curriculum for the grade level(s) you are interested in, a Program Support Folder with materials to support your implementation of the program, a Supplementary Resource Folder with additional extension materials, a Mindfulness Folder with additional extension lessons that further supplement the mindfulness component of the program, and a Survey Folder which includes educator and student pre and post surveys and a scoring guide to assess changes in perceptions and the overall impact of program use.

It’s free! But that doesn’t mean it’s lacking in value. Altogether it’s about 2000 pages worth of pre-K through 12th grade materials. The program is quite comprehensive giving you the tools and support to implement the program in your class(es) and at your school very easily and fully. Whether you are implementing in one class, several classes, or schoolwide, you are given the information and tools to do so easily and effectively.

The lessons were written for educators, by educators, and are evidence-based. The content of the lessons is based on research on emotional intelligence, resilience, posttraumatic growth, neuroscience, mindfulness/focused attention, and SEL. Special attention is paid to how our physical bodies (nerves, muscles, etc.), minds (the triune brain), and hearts (emotions) work in collaboration to promote health, learning, connection, and life success. The whole child—mind, heart, and body—is supported through these lessons.

There are four units: Courage, Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Compassion.

The units are taught in this order and all lessons fall under those four character values.Students will gain insight, information and essential skills in these four areas that will improve their confidence, promote positive decision-making, create and enhance communication, connection and relationships. Students learn skills that increase resiliency and promote their overall well-being and success, personally, socially, emotionally and academically.

Through these four units the following CASEL competencies are addressed:

• Self-Awareness: recognizing one’s emotions and values as well as one’s strengths and limitations;
• Self- Management: managing emotions and behaviors to achieve one’s goals;
• Social Awareness: showing understanding and empathy for others;
• Relationship Skills: forming positive relationships, working in teams, dealing effectively with conflict;
• Responsible Decision-Making: making ethical, constructive choices about personal and social behavior.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is the world’s leading organization advancing the practice of promoting integrated academic, social, and emotional learning for all children in preschool through high school.

In Elementary School, there are 14-16 lessons per unit. Elementary lessons are 20-30 minutes, but can easily be shortened or broken down into two lessons, or expanded to fit longer time frames. We also have supplementary materials and mindfulness lessons that can be utilized to lengthen a lesson or add to a unit.

There are 35 lessons for each of the four units in the Middle School Program, for a total of 140 lessons. Middle School lessons are between 10 and 20 minutes. There are 180 lessons for the High School Program. High school lessons are around 5-10 minutes long. Middle and High School Lessons are meant to be shorter blasts of learning to fit into tight schedules such as a homeroom or advisory period.  However, there is a wealth of material that allows them to be extended to fit a longer time period or regular class period if desired. Of course, while we intend for you to implement the program as designed, we understand that you might not be able to teach all of the lessons due to schedule/time constraints. In this case, we suggest that you shorten the amount of lessons that are taught in Middle School and High School, selecting the lessons from each unit that are best suited to your students’, class, and school needs.

We pride ourselves on having a comprehensive and impactful program that is easy to implement and adaptable to varying schedules, environments and uses.

The lessons are very user-friendly, and were designed to be easy to teach with minimal prep and materials. We have provided you with all that you need to implement this program, which includes the curriculum as well as support and supplementary resources. Educators who have used the program found that teaching the Choose Love Program was for them and their students, the favorite part of the day. You will find that you are learning essential skills right along with the students through lessons and discussions that are open, supportive, nurturing, and empowering.

In the 2016/17 school year, the program was downloaded by nearly 1,000 educators in 47 states and 17 countries! By the end of 2017, we project that the curriculum will be downloaded by more than 2,000 educators who will reach more than 150,000 students!

We surveyed the educators who implemented the program across the country during the 2016-2017 school year. Of those who responded:

• 100% said they saw an improvement in classroom climate an in students’ overall behavior
• More than 90% said their students get along better and have a more positive attitude
• More than 76% saw an increase in academic performance in their students
• More than 95% said they would use the program again or recommend it to other educators

Equally exciting feedback, is that educators are overwhelmingly reporting they are experiencing as much benefit personally as their students!

Once you register for the program, you will have ongoing access to the program resources through a secure login. We encourage you to visit the website to find updates, information and additional resources. You will also receive periodic emails with information pertinent to the program which may include updates, support, or new resources.

We have a monthly Choose Love Educator call where all educators interested or using the program are invited to share, compare and discuss how they are implementing the program! We also have a private Facebook group for educators to ask questions, share their experience with the program, and gain insights and best practices to use in their classrooms.

Absolutely! And we encourage you to do so! You can send any interested educators and colleagues to the website to see what we are all about and register for the program. Our program has spread largely through word of mouth and we thank you for sharing it with educators and students all over the country and world!