I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Certification Program

Would you like to help kids have inner confidence while making a living?

Can you imagine a world where every student took responsibility for themselves, their thoughts, their feelings, and their emotions? A world where every student knew and appreciated their own unique gifts? A world where students embrace those who seem different from them? A world where every student felt capable of choosing their feelings, and empowered to take control in a positive way in situations that challenged them?

I’m Jill Hope, Founder of I Shine at ishinekids.com, and I can imagine that world. In fact, at I Shine, we’ve created a unique and innovative school curriculum that is helping to create that world, one student and one classroom at a time.

The I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Certification Program is a 9 month, 34 lesson, character and self-esteem building curriculum that focuses on the emotional and social wellness of children in Grades 3-5. The program was built to allow maximum flexibility for the teacher, so that it can easily be taught alongside the required curriculum.

To learn more about the benefits of the program for your students, please view the video below.

Learn more about certification and licensing for this program here: https://ishinekids.com/innerwellness

If you are interested in enrolling your child or a group of children in an Inner Wellness Program in your area, click here

The purpose of the  I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Certification Program is to:

1. Teach students about their individual worthiness
2. Reveal to students their unique and special gifts
3. Demonstrate to students how they can take responsibility for their lives
4. Show how ultimately, each student can have a positive impact on the lives of others.

As a result of this program:

1. Both the classroom and school-wide environment will shift to that of greater acceptance of an individual student’s own uniqueness
2. There will be an increase in the acceptance of the differences in others
3. There will be greater self-awareness and ability to manage one’s own emotions
4. There will be a reduction in bullying behavior

The I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Certification Program is best suited as an introduction in Grade 3, with further repetition and reinforcement in both Grades 4 and 5. Due to the prepared, easy to follow, and flexible nature of the I Shine program, it can easily be integrated into the existing school curriculum with minimal preparation and impact for classroom teachers.

RESEARCH

Based on the data I Shine gathered during a pilot of the program, here are the most significant findings upon completion of the program:

• Students feel more empowered to take charge of a situation and improve it when something happens to them that they consider to be bad
• Students feel more confident in asking a peer to stop when they felt the peer was bossing them around or trying to control them in some way, in other words, bullying.
• Students feel more confident in their ability to let go of a situation where someone hurt their feelings
• Students feel better able to cope if a friend decides to eat lunch with someone else
• Students are more likely to play with a new student at school

and…

• Parents’ perception that their child accepts his/her shortcomings improved
• Parents’ perception that their child is quick to blame others when circumstances become unpleasant decreased
• Parents’ perception that their child now takes responsibility for his/her circumstances improved

TESTIMONIALS

“My child has a more positive outlook on different situations.”

~ Parent of I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Student

“She holds herself accountable for her actions.”

~ Parent of I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Student

“My child thinks about why they are feeling bad about something, and then thinks about how to rectify it.”

~ Parent of I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Student

“He’s better at expressing his feelings.”

~ Parent of I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Student

“We have fewer referrals to the office…have noticed students willing to use a variety of self-soothing strategies, and overall improvement in emotional intelligence.”

“Before we introduced the curriculum we saw students struggling to resolve conflicts independently or appropriately, friendships that were not positive (did not bring out the best in each person) and we did not have a dedicated time or place to work on emotional intelligence. Since implementing the curriculum we gained a common language to use with the students to discuss how to manage emotions, and we have observed more students choosing to be better/more positive friends. We have fewer referrals to the office for a particular group of students. We also have noticed students being willing to talk with the board social worker, students willing to use a variety of self-soothing strategies, and overall improvement in emotional intelligence.”

~ Agnew H. Johnston School, Thunder Bay Ontario, Canada

“I feel so fortunate to have listened to my ‘yes’ and taken this opportunity to work with you.”

“I just couldn’t contain myself from writing to you and sharing my excitement about the curriculum. It’s brilliant! So well thought out, superb activities, the surveys, etc.…your program rocks, Jill. I feel so fortunate to have listened to my ‘yes’ and taken this opportunity to work with you.”

~ Gauri Maini Hira, I Shine Facilitator, Bangalore, India

“My daughter is much better at communicating in a positive way when she feels bullied or wronged by a friend.”

~ Parent of I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Student

“He was able to communicate his behavior / mood change in a more articulate way.”

~ Parent of I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Student

“She says she learned she has a choice about being happy or sad.”

~ Parent of I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Student

“My child’s self-esteem, confidence, and acceptance of shortcomings all improved this year.”

~ Parent of I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Student

“I would definitively recommend her program as well as her coaching”

“I found Ms. Hope to be articulate, insightful, and could see her being a strong positive force in anyone’s life. Clearly, she is passionate about her work and has accumulated a tremendous depth of wisdom over the years. I would definitively recommend her program as well as her coaching!”

~ Cherilynn Veland, LCSW, MSW Licensed Clinical Social Worker

“Can’t wait to share it with others”

“As a retired School Counselor and Educator for 31 years, Jill’s Inner Wellness Curriculum is the program I wish I had been able to use in my school to empower kids and be a part of the bully-proofing program. I love how Jill has developed a comprehensive program to help kids’ shift from the ‘inside-out’. The curriculum includes powerful lessons in 9 Modules that include deep breathing/visualizing and a meditation as part of each lesson. The surveys, family communication, and effective lesson plans are easy to follow and powerful! Being trained as a facilitator for this empowering curriculum allows one to lead groups within your community in schools, clubs, camps, places of worship, or in workshops to spread teaching kids how to take care of their emotions and themselves from within, so as to be responsible, respectful, and empowered citizens. I am grateful to Jill Hope for her creation of this unique and wellness driven curriculum and can’t wait to share it with others.”

~ Beth Myers

“Thank you for this wonderful opportunity – the program was so professional, so organized and provided everything I need to get started empowering kids – so excited!”

~Denise Festa

ENDORSEMENTS

 “In the I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum, Jill Hope has created a resilience based educational curriculum to facilitate character building, self-esteem and self-regulation in children.  This holistic program provides resources for parents as well.  The nine modules are well organized in providing guidance, strategies, lesson plans and more for educators and facilitators.  I will recommend the I Shine program without reservation.”

Sam Goldstein, Ph.D.

Co-Editor of the Handbook of Resilience in Children, 2nd Edition

PARENT OBSERVATIONS

Here are some of the most significant comments parents made about what they observed as a result of their child’s participation in this valuable program:

• “My child has a more positive outlook on different situations.”
• “She holds herself accountable for her actions.”
• “My 8 year old daughter lit up when I asked her if she liked the program. She said she liked it a lot and learned how to be a better friend.”
• “He’s better at expressing his feelings.”
• “My child’s self-esteem, confidence, and acceptance of shortcomings all improved this year.”
• “Stronger sense of self and improved confidence”
• “Self-assurance and problem solving improved.”
• “Taking responsibility for his part in a situation – good or bad”
• “My daughter is much better at communicating in a positive way when she feels bullied or wronged by a friend.”
• “My daughter’s confidence has grown.”
• “My child thinks about why they are feeling bad about something, and then thinks about how to rectify it.”
• “He was able to communicate his behavior / mood change in a more articulate way.”
• “She says she learned she has a choice about being happy or sad.”

TEACHER OBSERVATIONS

• There is great value in the conscious breathing exercises at the start and end of each lesson as they allow both teacher and students to become centered and focused on the lesson at hand. The benefits are even extended during class times other than during the wellness lessons.
• The introduction of a vocabulary of words that describe social/emotional situations the students are faced with has been very beneficial. Students are making tie-ins back to these concepts when situations present themselves during the day, and are able to better express themselves and their feelings about these situations.
  • For example, when Spanish class was canceled, the students just said “we’ll just go with the flow”, a concept discussed in Module 4.
  • In another example, when a student had a concern about a friend, where previously she would have asked the teacher to get involved, the student now told the teacher she felt confident to speak to the friend on her own.
• The students feel the lesson time offers a safe space to express themselves and share their feelings without judgment, which is leading to greater overall acceptance amongst the students.
• The program offers a good flow with enough flexibility to be easily integrated amongst the other priorities and teaching requirements.

If you are interested in learning more about the I Shine Inner Wellness Curriculum Certification Program, or in exploring the possibility of integrating this program into your classrooms, please contact Jill Hope at jill@ishinekids.com.