Program Objectives
SESSION 1
Parent Discussion: How My Child is Growing and Changing
Lesson 1 - Brain Development and Thinking
Parents will:
- Understand the basics of brain development.
- Explore realistic and appropriate expectations for their middle school student’s behaviors, regarding planning, decision making and risk taking.
Lesson 2 - Social and Emotional Development
Parents will:
- Understand their middle school student’s identity development as a primary task of adolescence.
- Gain skills in nurturing their middle school student’s social development.
Lesson 3 - Physical Development
Parents will:
- Understand the basics of their middle school student’s physical development.
- Gain skills to help their middle school student develop a positive body image and healthy lifestyle. (ATOD)
Peer Connection: How I Am Changing
Lesson 1 - Choices
Students will:
- Understand choices, decision making, and consequences.
- Gain skills in exploring choices and making decisions in school.
Lesson 2 - Independence
Students will:
- Understand who they are becoming.
- Explore and discover opportunities to pursue interests.
Lesson 3 - Physical Development
Students will:
- Understand what is happening with their bodies.
- Gain skills to develop a positive healthy body image and lifestyle.
SESSION 2
Parent Discussion: Partners in Education
Lesson 4 - Academics and New Expectations
Parents will:
- Understand academic achievement in the middle school environment.
- Gain skills in setting expectations, encouraging effort, and modeling the importance of education.
- Understand the importance of meaningful parent involvement in supporting education.
- Gain skills in promoting their student’s education through meaningful parent involvement, advocacy and positive school relationships.
Lesson 5 - Parent Involvement with School
- Understand the importance of meaningful parent involvement in supporting education.
- Gain skills in promoting their student’s education through meaningful parent involvement, advocacy and positive school relationships.
Lesson 6 - Home Environments for Learning and Success
Parents will:
- Understand the essential elements of a supportive learning environment that includes school and home.
- Gain skills in establishing an environment that support learning and provides appropriate structure and resources, from home to school and back.
Peer Connection: What is Middle School All About?
Lesson 4 - Check out the Great Places
Students will:
- Understand the environment and routines of middle school.
- Gain skills in managing the transitions to, and environment of, middle school.
Lesson 5 - Managing Relationships
Students will:
- Understand changing social relationships with peers and adults.
- Gain skills in building and managing relationships with peers, teachers, parents and other adults.
Lesson 6 - Great Expectations
Students will:
- Understand increased responsibilities and expectations of middle school.
- Gain skills in organizing, managing, and scheduling as a middle school student.
SESSION 3
Parent Discussion: Your Role as a Parent
Lesson 7 - Parenting: the Middle School Years
Parents will:
- Explore values and strengths as a parent of middle school students and their (the parents’) own psychological development in middle adulthood.
- Gain skills in understanding your middle school student and adapting their parenting.
Lesson 8 - Parenting Styles
Parents will:
- Explore 4 common parenting styles.
- Identify the parenting style they use most of the time
- Gain skills in using a democratic style of parenting that is firm, fair and friendly
Lesson 9 - Guidance and Discipline
Parents will:
- Explore new responsibilities of parenting their middle school student.
- Gain skills in monitoring, connecting, communicating, resisting parental peer pressure and using consequences.
Peer Connection: Your Role as a Student
Lesson 7 - You as an Individual
Students will:
- Explore consequences of reacting to situations versus making informed choices.
- Gain skills in thinking through their reaction to a situation, event, comment, etc.
Lesson 8 - You as a Friend
Students will:
- Understand their role in making new friends.
- Gain social skills in building relationships.
Lesson 9 - You as a Student
Students will:
- Understand their role in managing their time each day.
- Gain skills in setting goals toward better time management.