By: Rikki Siegel, Preventionist
As a Preventionist at Wellspring Center for Prevention, I get the opportunity to go to several different schools, meet so many eager students, and work with wonderful teachers. One of my favorite programs to teach during the school year is Footprints for Life.
Footprints for Life is a research-based primary prevention program that builds assets and teaches important life skills to students in grades two and three (footprintsforlife.org/about). Currently, Footprints for Life is being taught in several districts throughout Middlesex and Monmouth Counties. Each lesson focuses on a specific topic. Some include identifying anger management strategies, respectful conflict resolution, peer pressure and consequences, and coping strategies. Additionally, each lesson ends with an engaging puppet show featuring five to six forest creatures and is centered around their soccer team.
I have taught the Footprints for Life program for the past two years and my favorite lesson to teach to students is the lesson on Coping Skills. This lesson focuses on individualized coping skills based on their specific interests and hobbies that students can utilize when they are in a situation that causes them sad or angry feelings.
When the lesson begins, students often think that coping skills are the same as anger management strategies. When students learn that they can cope with hard times using activities they love to do, it sparks an “Ah-ha” moment and you see the brainstorming of ideas happening in front of you. Some of the best things students have said to me during this lesson were, “I love that I can read my favorite book and it will help me feel better” and “When I’m feeling sad, knowing I can do my favorite activities makes me feel so much better.”
In addition to being engaged in the lessons each week, students also look forward to the weekly puppet show. They love learning about the characters and interacting with them, and by the end of the program, the students have a favorite puppet. Much of the learning comes from the engagement that the puppet show provides. Students love learning how the puppets act in the situations and problems they just learned about and often reference the puppet show when reviewing previously taught concepts.
Footprints for Life is a wonderful program that students look forward to each week and that receives positive feedback from teachers. For more information on Footprints for Life, please visit wellspringprevention.org or footprintsforlife.org, or contact Mara Carlin, Director of Prevention Services, at (732) 254-3344 or mara.carlin@wcpnj.org.
Photo by CDC