Today, solid academic performance has proven not enough for our children to stay successful, happy, healthy and optimistic in this extremely competitive, busy and stressful world! With numerous research and countless reports supporting the need for SEL, educators across the country strongly agree that teaching these life skills positively impact the academic performance of their students as well as enforce and develop critical character traits for a child’s continued success in life. (Casel.org)
But, if educators are overworked, academic classroom schedules are full and families are overwhelmed…. by whom, where and when is SEL being taught?
Love4Life can help. Love4Life delivers programs during or after-school to create confident, conscious and compassionate leaders.
Love4Life is a social sand emotional learning (SEL) program teaching five core cognitive and behavioral abilities:
1. Self-Awareness: recognizing one’s emotions, thoughts, and strengths leading to confidence and optimism; be mindful
2. Social-Awareness: ability to empathize, be open-minded and recognize how/when to ask for help from others
3. Self-Management: ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts and behaviors with stress, anger, motivation and achieving personal and academic goals
4. Relationship Skills: ability to create healthy happy relationships through communication, listening, cooperation, respect and conflict resolution
5. Responsible Decision Making: ability to make healthy respectful and ethical choices for self/ others
PS I Love You Foundation’s Love4Life program was birthed from the actions, parenting and hearts of both Patricia Jones’s mother, Patricia, and her oldest friend, Millie Taylor. Both of these heartfelt women insisted their children learn important tools and values to not only strive in life, but to thrive in life. These skills helped develop a healthy sense of self, allowed the feeling of love and security and empowered the belief that one can accomplish great things. All this taught through empathy, compassion, doing the right thing even is no-one is watching, make healthy choices and always doing your 100% BEST! Failing was always approved and seen as a reflection of trying; as long as you work your hardest, stay curious about life, participate in activities around you, then, you will be filled with a wealth of knowledge and confidence!!! All these skills bring a strong social network, healthy relationships and feelings of personal value. Since a child, Patricia wrote down all these life lessons and in 2009, through the encouragement of Shane Evangelist, CEO of US Auto Parts, created a well-designed instructor manual and student handbook about these skills and named the program Love4Life. Love4Life was first implemented by Shane Evangelist as an employee one-on-one mentor program for 25 of his management team at US Auto Parts in Carson. Today, Love4Life’s curriculum provides an open platform for interactive discussion and safe sharing while inspiring trust and gratitude. Love4Life is implemented as a 10-18 week social and emotional learning and non-bullying program to empower students to think, act, feel and live with confidence and compassion. Currently, Love4Life reaches over 300 students a year in grades 5th-9th from partnerships with local schools, other non-profits and gang intervention programs.