5th Grade Riding Waves

Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, all 5th grade students in Adams 12 will receive lessons from the Riding the Waves curriculum. The focus of the lessons is on identifying sources of stress and learning healthy ways of coping. These lessons are educational, not therapeutic, and will be done with the entire class. 

Lessons were developed by professionals with many years of experience in youth suicide prevention. While they do not directly address suicide, they were built on the premise that having healthy social and coping skills in one's "toolbox" can help when life presents its challenges and hardships. As you may already be experiencing at home, we are aware that many 5th grade children begin to describe more academic and social pressures in anticipation of their transition to middle school. Occasionally they worry about their friends' behavior and wonder what to do and who to talk with. We believe these lessons will provide the students with practical coping skills, like journaling, progressive muscle relaxation, and "belly breathing". A couple of lessons will emphasize how to be a supportive friend, as well as the importance of asking an adult for help when your usual coping skills aren't working. 

After each lesson, your child will be given a handout to bring home, which provides a short summary of what was taught and suggestions for continuing the conversation about healthy coping and social skills at home. As always, I welcome your feedback. 

• Lesson 1: Introduction to Riding the Waves, Introduction to Emotions
• Lesson 2: Understanding Depression
• Lesson 3: Affirmations
• Lesson 4: Belly Breathing and Using Imagination
• Lesson 5: Journaling
• Lesson 6: Laughing
• Lesson 7: Positive Problem Solving
• Lesson 8: Positive Self-Talk
• Lesson 9: Progressive Muscle Relaxation
• Lesson 10: Talking About Feelings
• Lesson 11: Helping a Friend: Non-Nosey Questions
• Lesson 12: Helping a Friend: Going to Adults