Just like a plane can take us where we want to go on a vacation, our mind takes us where we want to go in life.

    - Kids learn that our mind has two parts, our conscious mind which acts like our pilot – controlling our “plane” with thoughts and our subconscious mind which acts like our autopilot – controlling our “plane” based on the “programs” it is running.

    - These programs are called belief systems and they either support us in creating what we want in life or they limit us at every turn.

    - When kids learn how to uncover negative beliefs and then shift them to supportive beliefs they become empowered to handle the ups and downs of growing up without getting down on themselves or giving up on themselves.

    - The story "Who’s Flying Your Plane" helps kids understand how their mind shapes their world and what they can do to shape their mind.

    - We also have a fun paper airplane decoration activity that we do to reinforce the learning.

In Power of Possibility, kids learn more about belief systems and how limiting beliefs create their comfort zone.

    - They learn that when they live in their comfort zone, they limit what is possible for themselves.

    - Kids learn that when they build a belief system based on possibilities, they can overcome any obstacle, move through fear, handle mistakes and failure, learn to successfully manage change, and bust outside of their comfort zone, create courage, and go for it in life – even if they’ve stumbled in the past.

​In the story,, "Power of Possibility", kids learn that they achieve what they believe!

Neural pathways determine what we understand and don’t understand. In this session, kids learn

    - the secret behind why they get nervous before doing something new

    - how to prepare their brain to minimize this nervousness 

    - how to prepare their brain to achieve new goals – especially goals outside of their comfort zone

The story "Pathway to Success" teaches kids how to create their own “path” to success. We also do a fun activity to explore building neural pathways. 

Our RAS, or Reticular Activating System, is the unique part of our brain that enables us to screen out “background noise” so that our brain only pays attention to things that are relevant to us.

    - Our RAS is critical for helping us achieve our goals

    - When we tell ourselves what we want through affirmations and goal setting, our RAS puts our goals on our radar screen and looks for things that will help us get what we want.

The story "Your Radar for Success" helps kids understand this critical part of their brain and how to use it to their advantage. For the activity, students will do a fun radar project.

This lesson is one of the most powerful lessons in the Adventures in Wisdom program.

    - When things don’t go their way, kids often get down on themselves

    - A powerful skill for children to learn is how to separate both events and their results from “who they are” as a person

    - At Adventures in Wisdom we call this “power shifting” (often referred to as reframing)

    - Power Shifting is the ability to switch your thoughts from a limiting belief to a growth-minded belief

The story "Power Goggles" helps kids understand how to handle the ups and downs of growing up without getting down on themselves. We also have a fun activity where kids get to create their own power goggles to reinforce their learning!

Kids learn that when they take 100% responsibility for their lives it gives them their ultimate power. They get to choose who they want to be, what they want to think, how they choose to feel, how they choose to act, and what they want to create - it is their choice. I share the story, "Victim Victor Finds His Power" and help kids learn to be “the boss of me”. After the story, we give kids a lot of opportunities to practice so they can learn how taking responsibility helps them be more powerful in all areas of their lives.

Next, we talk about the value of Integrity. Integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one else is looking. When kids live their lives with integrity they learn to trust themselves and others can trust them too. This leads to power self-confidence and self-esteem as they learn that their word matters even if they are the only person who hears it. I share the story "No One Will Know Nelson" and help kids learn about the power of integrity! We also discuss challenges to our integrity and how to handle broken integrity. At the end of the session we do a very powerful activity called “How red is the water” that will anchor the impact of integrity for the rest of their lives.

The next session focuses on the value of respect. In this session, kids learn that every time they are with someone they leave a “mark” depending on how they treat them. Treating others with respect means following the Golden Rule – to treat others as you would want to be treated. They learn that when they use manners and treat others with kindness, they leave “gold hearts” everywhere. I share the story, "Make Your Mark with The Golden Rule". We then have a fun activity where we make gold hearts for people in their lives. Kids are also challenged with teaching the power of gold hearts to their family at home. It is a very powerful session.

During the next session, kids learn about the second half of the Golden Rule that is rarely discussed, and that’s self-respect. Having self-respect means giving yourself a “gold heart”. It means standing by your values and treating yourself with as much kindness, patience, compassion, and understanding that you would have with your best friend, your favorite teacher, or your favorite relative. Choosing self-respect builds powerful self-esteem. I share the story, "My Mark on Me", and they practice making gold hearts for themselves.

After we have grounded in core values of self-leaders – developing that inner compass, we shift into how to make good decisions. When children are born, their parents make 100% of their decisions for them – from what they eat to what they wear to where they go. By the time they leave home, they need to be able to make good decisions for themselves 100% of the time! Knowing what they believe about key issues such as cheating, lying, stealing, using drugs or alcohol, engaging in sexual activity, and cutting class can help kids stand against peer pressure and stay focused on their goals. The goal of this session is to help children learn how to make good decisions and provides a platform for them to make a decision about many of the critical issues listed above before they face them. I share the story "Charlie Chooses Charlie" to help kids understand the importance of choosing what they want for themselves before they are in a peer pressure situation. Then we practice using the “Four C’s of Decision Making” module for choosing what they want for themselves in key areas of their lives.

For kids, knowing what they stand for, choosing what they want for themselves, and learning how to say “no” to peers and “yes” to themselves is critical for standing against negative peer pressure. I share the story "Copy Cat Cathy" and discuss the five different types of peer pressure. I also have the kids brainstorm examples for each type of peer pressure, so they can practice recognizing it when they hear it. We also discuss different “no” statements they can use and have each child choose and practice two or three “no” statements that work for them. Then we practice, practice, practice. Role playing is a critical part of developing this skill because it helps kids identify challenging situations and lets them practice how to respond to them.

Young children often don’t understand the concept of self-esteem or why it’s important. During the first session, I share the story "Yucky Me! Yahoo Me!" to help children understand what self-esteem is and that positive self-esteem is a choice!

In this session, we about the danger of comparison. Comparison is a self-esteem crusher! Kids often live in the world of comparisons – seeing themselves as “better than” or “less than” someone else. Judgment with a feeling of “less than” leads to self-criticism and self-doubt as kids see everyone else as “better than” they are. This destroys self-esteem as kids fail to see their own uniqueness, gifts, and talents. I share the story "The Sun, The Wind, and The Rain" to help kids understand the danger of comparisons and discover what is great about themselves. We also have a fun activity to help kids practice honoring their uniqueness and uncovering the uniqueness of others.

Young children often don’t understand the concept of self-confidence or why it’s important. I share the story "Canville and Can’tville – a Tale of Two Towns" to help children understand what self-confidence is and the impact of an “I can” belief system. We also explore areas they don’t feel as confident and practice living in Canville.

After children have uncovered their uniqueness, we work on solidifying a positive self-concept by learning to develop positive self-talk. Positive self-talk helps children “program” their mind for positive self-esteem by building strong neural pathways. I share the story "Choosing Your BFF (Best Friend Forever)" to help kids understand how to use the power of positive self-talk and become their own BFF. We also have a fun activity that helps children create their own positive self-talk mantras and decorate a self-talk mirror they can take home with them.

Self-coaching is the process of “checking in” with ourselves to ensure that we are creating what we want to create in our lives - to make sure we are being the person we want to be and that we are living our vision and achieving our goals. With self-coaching we can make every day our masterpiece! In this session I share the story "Migration Frustration" and kids learn a process for self-coaching throughout their day. They also learn how to self-coach through common dragons so that they can be their best self every day.

Children learn the importance of setting a vision for their lives, so they don’t drift through life. They learn the importance of dreaming big and to not let circumstances determine what they want in life. I share the story "A Tale of Two Voyages" and children get to create their own vision statement and vision board!

Children learn that making their dreams come true involves much more than a vision board – they must take action as well. I share the story "I Wanna Donna" and then kids learn how to break their goals into tasks and how to track their progress using both a list method and a calendar method.

Children learn how to handle disappointment if they don’t reach their goal and enjoy their journey and celebrate success along the way.

Kids learn that when they plan their goals they plan their success. Kids will have an opportunity to develop goal plans for at least one of their goals in the room and will have a chance to continue their practice at home.

Children are introduced to the power of the Law of Attraction through the story “Turning off the Grungy Channel”. Kids learn about the benefits of positive thinking and positive energy and are introduced to the tools of visualization, affirmations, and gratitude to “train their brain” for success.

In this session kids learn all about the power of visualization. Visualization is the process of imagining yourself in the future having already achieved your goal. Scientific research has proven that your mind cannot tell the difference between an experience you imagine and an experience that is real. When you use visualization to practice success in your mind, you develop strong neural pathways to prepare your mind to succeed. Visualization is a very powerful skill for helping kids manage change, move through fear, and pick themselves up after facing a disappointment or failure. I share the story "I Hope Holly Helps Herself" to help kids learn about the power of visualization.

In this session, I use the story "It Ain’t Happen Harry Learns Affirmations" to help kids learn another powerful tool for training their brain for success. Affirmations are very powerful tools for “programming” both your conscious mind and your subconscious mind to achieve your goals and can also be used to “reprogram” negative belief systems. Whereas visualization creates neural pathways and stimulates your RAS using visual input, affirmations does the same thing using audio input. When used together visualization and affirmations prepare you to create magic in your life. Children have a chance to create their own affirmations and practice, practice, practice!

In this session we help children shift their energy from “wanting” to receiving by using learning about gratitude. Gratitude is a powerful tool for shifting your mood and creating happiness. It is also a powerful tool for achieving your goals. In the story "Gotta Have Gary Learns Gratitude," children learn how to develop an attitude of gratitude and participate in an impactful activity creating a gratitude scale.

Everyone makes mistakes ─ it’s a normal part of life. In this session, kids learn that mistakes are opportunities to learn and to grow. I share the story The Weight of Mistakes and kids learn the “Five I’s of managing mistakes”. We also have a fun activity that we do to help kids learn how to learn from the mistake and let it go.

Life is filled with many challenges. Sometimes the strongest challenge they will face are the dragons that can flood their mind. Kids learn that dragons are just creations of their mind. They learn three common thought patterns that create fear and a five-step process for moving through that fear and creating courage.

Disappointments and “failure” are part of life. In this session kids learn that failure is an event and not who they are. They learn that failure is only a failure if they allow it to keep them from their goals and dreams. I share the story "Afraid to Fail Fred" and kids learn how to put failure “in a box” so they can learn from it and move forward in their power. We also have a fun activity where kids get to make their own box for the Put-it-in-a-Box process as a reminder in how to move past disappointments.

In this session, kids learn how to manage change. They learn that change is a critical part of life and that they cannot create who they want to be by staying where they are. Only by accepting and embracing change can they move forward in their power. I share the story Changes in Paradise and kids learn the three steps for managing change.

Kids often think that certain things must be in place before they can do something. For example, “If I were taller then I try out for the basketball team.” This “if…then” thinking is called conditional thinking and it destroys dreams. In this lesson kids learn that conditional thinking steals their power as they become a victim of their circumstances and limiting beliefs. They learn how to break through conditional thinking and go for their dreams. I share the story "If Then Ben (Part 1)" and tie in the learning from Lesson 1 about looking for possibilities.