The curriculum
Six capabilities. One developmental progression.
Nevada Loves Kids is not six random subjects. It is an original curriculum built as a progression: first a child learns to understand what is happening inside them, then to steady it, then to question the story in their head, then to relate to other people, then to choose their actions — and finally to build a future they author themselves.
All of it happens inside a seventh element that is not a lesson at all: Connection. Every child should leave knowing I belong somewhere.
The six capabilities
What a child actually practices.
Capability 1
Know Myself
I can understand what's happening inside me.
What we teach
- Naming emotions
- Body signals
- Needs vs. wants
- Strengths & values
- Identity
- “What happened to me” vs. “who I am”
- Noticing triggers — without any child being asked to disclose trauma
How we teach it
Emotion charades, body-map activities, “name that feeling” scenarios, strength cards, “what makes me me?” drawings, and short stories where children decide what a character might be feeling.
Research we study: Emotional-literacy research (Roots of Empathy and the broader SEL evidence base). We use published findings and high-level teaching principles — never another organization's proprietary lessons, scripts, or branded materials.
Capability 2
Regulate Myself
Feelings are information. Feelings are not commands.
What we teach
- Slow breathing
- Grounding
- Pause before reacting
- Movement & sensory strategies
- Relaxation
- Recognizing escalation
- Choosing a coping strategy
How we teach it
Almost no lecturing. A child draws a scenario card — “a friend says something mean.” Round one: react immediately. Round two: pause, breathe, name the feeling, choose a response. Then we ask, “what changed when you gave yourself five seconds?”
Research we study: Trauma-informed CBT research on explicitly teaching and rehearsing relaxation and coping skills. We use published findings and high-level teaching principles — never another organization's proprietary lessons, scripts, or branded materials.
Capability 3
Change the Story in My Head
Event → thought → feeling → action → result.
What we teach
- Spotting the thought behind the feeling
- “What else could be true?”
- Alternative explanations
- Cognitive flexibility
- Problem-solving
- Helpful vs. unhelpful thinking
How we teach it
Maya doesn't invite me to her birthday. Thought: “nobody likes me.” Feeling: sad and angry. Action: stop talking to everyone. Result: even more alone. Then we generate other possibilities — she could only invite five people, she forgot, her parents limited the list, I could ask her, I could invite someone else to play. Ages 6–8 call it “Thought Detective.” Ages 9–12 ask, “is this thought helping me?”
Research we study: Penn Resilience Program research on examining beliefs and building problem-solving skills. We use published findings and high-level teaching principles — never another organization's proprietary lessons, scripts, or branded materials.
Capability 4
Relate to Other People
Me → you → us.
What we teach
- Perspective taking
- Listening
- Empathy
- Communication & apologizing
- Repair after conflict
- Boundaries & respect
- Asking for help
- Recognizing unhealthy behavior
How we teach it
Two friends want the same seat. Round one: instinctive reaction. Round two: communicate. Round three: solve it together. Then: “which response protected both people's needs?” Experience, reflection, practice — repeated.
Research we study: Roots of Empathy research on observation, reflection, and discussion rather than instruction. We use published findings and high-level teaching principles — never another organization's proprietary lessons, scripts, or branded materials.
Capability 5
Choose My Actions
You don't control everything that happens. You do have choices about what you do next.
What we teach
- Decision-making
- Consequences
- Problem-solving
- Responsibility & integrity
- Impulse control
- Asking for help
- Making repairs after mistakes
How we teach it
Not “what is responsibility?” but “you promised to help your friend with a project and your favorite show is on — what do you do?” Then we hand them a tool and make it a game: STOP → THINK → OPTIONS → CONSEQUENCES → CHOOSE.
Research we study: Positive Action research linking thoughts, actions, and feelings to self-management and character. We use published findings and high-level teaching principles — never another organization's proprietary lessons, scripts, or branded materials.
Capability 6
Build My Future
What kind of life do you want to build?
What we teach
- Ages 6–8: dreams, strengths, trying hard things, a goal of the week, “what do I want to learn?”
- Ages 9–12: values, goals, habits, money basics, career exploration, leadership, purpose, long-term thinking, delayed gratification, contribution
How we teach it
We don't say “you can do anything” — that is too simplistic for children with genuinely hard circumstances. We say: your circumstances are part of your story, not the whole story. You can't always choose what happens. You can learn to choose what you do next.
Research we study: Positive youth development and Penn Resilience research on agency, optimism, and goal pursuit. We use published findings and high-level teaching principles — never another organization's proprietary lessons, scripts, or branded materials.
The seventh element
Connection isn't a lesson. It's the room.
Belonging, trusted adults, and peer support are the environment every session runs inside — not a unit we cover once. That is why every session, regardless of topic, follows the same rhythm.
CONNECT → LEARN → PRACTICE → REFLECT → APPLY
The Nevada Loves signature teaching methodology.
Every lesson, same architecture
Skills are rehearsed, not described.
- 01
Learn it
Understand the concept in plain, age-appropriate language.
- 02
See it
Watch it modeled by a facilitator, a story, or a peer.
- 03
Feel it
Experience a situation that actually activates the skill.
- 04
Practice it
Repeat it — rehearsal is what makes a skill available under stress.
- 05
Reflect on it
What happened? What changed? What would you do differently?
- 06
Apply it
Use it outside the room — at home, at school, with friends.
A sample 60-minute session
Lesson: “I can pause before I react.”
- 0–5 min
Connect
“What's one feeling you had today?” No forced sharing, ever.
- 5–10 min
Experience
A short scenario — someone laughs when you answer a question wrong. What happens in your body?
- 10–15 min
Teach
Introduce the tool: PAUSE → BREATHE → NOTICE → CHOOSE.
- 15–30 min
Practice
Five scenarios. Children physically move to corners of the room: react / pause / ask for help / walk away / solve it. Then discuss.
- 30–40 min
Challenge
An escape-room-style group problem the team can only finish if they communicate and manage frustration.
- 40–50 min
Reflect
What happened when we got frustrated? What did we do? What worked?
- 50–55 min
Transfer
Where could you use this in real life this week?
- 55–60 min
Take-home mission
Catch yourself reacting once this week. Pause five seconds. Then choose.
We are not telling children to “learn resilience.” We are putting them in situations where they have to practice it, and then helping them notice what worked.
Two levels, built separately
Level 1: ages 6–8. Level 2: ages 9–12.
Before writing forty lessons, we are building twelve core sessions per level. Each session is documented the same way, so the program can be taught consistently, evaluated honestly, and handed to a trained facilitator.
- Objective & target skill
- 60-minute lesson plan
- Experiential activity
- Take-home practice
- Parent / caregiver connection
- Facilitator notes
- Safety & referral protocol
- Measurement — simple before-and-after
- Fidelity checklist
Our lane, and where it ends
We are the developmental lane, not the clinical one.
We do not ask children to sit in a circle and talk about their trauma. A child does not need to disclose abuse, neglect, violence, or family hardship in order to learn emotional regulation, confidence, problem-solving, relationships, boundaries, hope, purpose, or goal-setting. That is a matter of both safety and scalability.
Clinical trauma treatments occupy a different lane. CBITS is a trauma-treatment intervention for youth with trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms — it includes trauma-memory processing, and the National Child Traumatic Stress Network currently lists it for ages 10–18. Bounce Back is the elementary adaptation of CBITS for ages 5–11 and likewise involves therapeutic trauma processing. Both are delivered by trained clinicians.
Nevada Loves Kids does not deliver, adapt, or replicate those programs. What we take from that literature is the skills architecture: emotional identification, regulation, relaxation, cognitive coping, problem-solving, social support — and repeated practice of each.
If a child needs trauma treatment, we refer to a qualified clinical provider. Every session includes a written safety and referral protocol. Nevada Loves Kids is an educational, trauma-aware prevention program — not therapy, not medical care, and not a substitute for individualized mental health treatment.
How the two layers fit
Six capabilities. Ten values practiced inside them.
The six capabilities are the developmental progression — the order a child moves through, from understanding themselves to building a future. The ten capacities are the values we practice week after week. Nothing was replaced; the capacities now have a home.
Know Myself
I can understand what's happening inside me.
05 Nutrition & body care
“My body is worth taking care of.”
Food, sleep, movement, and screen breaks as self-respect — and as signals I can learn to read.
Regulate Myself
Feelings are information, not commands.
01 Nervous-system reset
“Calm is a skill.”
Practical tools to settle the body so learning and choice become possible.
10 Meditation & breath work
“I can come back to myself.”
Portable practices for attention, emotional balance, and self-awareness.
Change the Story in My Head
Event → thought → feeling → action → result.
04 Self-efficacy
“I can do hard things.”
Turning setbacks into information and rewriting the internal voice from 'I can't' to 'I'm becoming.'
Relate to Other People
Me → you → us.
02 Communication & confidence
“My voice matters.”
Speaking clearly, listening well, and asking for what I need.
03 Social intelligence & self-protection
“I can be open and still safe.”
Reading people and situations, holding boundaries, and staying safe online and off.
Choose My Actions
I don't control everything that happens. I choose what I do next.
06 High-character behaviors
“Who I am shows in what I do.”
Honesty, follow-through, repair after rupture, and respectful conduct as daily practice.
Build My Future
My circumstances are part of my story, not the whole story.
07 Financial responsibility
“I can be trusted with what I have.”
Needs vs. wants, saving, earning, giving, and the basics of interest and investing.
08 Goal setting & follow-through
“I build my own life.”
Real goals broken into steps a child can own and finish.
Connection
The environment of the whole program — belonging, trusted adults, peer support.
09 Contribution, purpose & altruism
“My story can help someone else.”
Helping peers and giving back — where resilience turns into meaning.
Curriculum map
Capability, inspiration, practice.
These are research foundations we study — not programs we claim to deliver. Nevada Loves Kids is a new, original curriculum informed by evidence-based approaches.
| Capability | Evidence-informed inspiration | What the child practices |
|---|---|---|
| Know Myself | Roots of Empathy / SEL research | Emotional literacy, strengths, identity |
| Regulate Myself | Trauma-informed CBT skills research | Breathing, grounding, coping |
| Change My Story | Penn Resilience Program research | Cognitive flexibility, alternative explanations |
| Relate to Others | Roots of Empathy research | Empathy, communication, boundaries |
| Choose My Actions | Positive Action research | Decisions, character, consequences |
| Build My Future | Positive youth development / PRP | Goals, agency, purpose, planning |
| Connection (the environment) | Common to all of the above | Belonging, trusted adults, peer support |
Positive Action is an extensive commercial curriculum with grade-specific lessons and training, and Roots of Empathy has its own specialized curriculum and instructor certification. We reference their published research and pedagogical principles only.
Life Success After Adversity