Blog Post Listing

Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities may encounter challenges in dating and relationships, such as difficulties with communication, interpreting social cues, and regulating emotions. These challenges can sometimes lead to misunderstandings, frustration, or feelings of isolation. Special education teachers play a vital role in supporting students by teaching social skills through role-playing exercises, reinforcing safe dating practices, and providing clear guidance on social norms and boundaries.

This is where the Healthy Relationships Curriculum comes in!

Our curriculum equips special educators with essential resources to help students develop the social skills necessary for building both platonic and romantic relationships. These tools include:

• Role Playing, Demonstrations, and Life Skills Activities: With close to 200 role-play and demonstration videos, students engage in hands-on activities and enjoy interactive role-playing games to apply real-life skills.
• Over 80 Scenario Cards: These cards transform the lessons into practical, real-life situations, enhancing their comprehension of the lessons.
• Outcome Tools: Outcome measurement tools can be shared with parents and administrators to show real-time, individual progress
• Parent Guide for Success & Home Supplements: Offers specific, at-home information & activities to engage the parent or guardian, reinforce the skills learned, and encourage family participation.

If you want to learn more about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum, watch this overview video and request a free demo!

The third week of January (the 20^th-24^th this year) is “No Name Calling” Week. The purpose of this week is to educate students, teachers, and the public on the harms of name-calling. The goal is to bring awareness to identity-based bullying and how to stand up for and support others who may be targeted.

Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum also provides strategies for dealing with bullying and relationship building, including how to identify a bully and how to identify and make friends. Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum provides tools for teaching students how to take care of themselves physically and socially using tools such as:

• Role Playing, Demonstrations, and Life Skills Activities: With close to 200 role-play and demonstration videos, students engage in hands-on activities and enjoy interactive role-playing games to apply real-life skills.
• Over 80 Scenario Cards: These cards transform the lessons into practical, real-life situations, enhancing their comprehension of the lessons.
• A Variety of Lesson Topics: Lesson topics cover a wide range of social skills from small talk to voice volume and personal space.
• Lesson Activities and Games: Our games are designed to teach lessons in an engaging and fun manner, ensuring students stay motivated. These pre-made games were created by our team of educators and counselors.

Healthy Relationships Curriculum is here to support you as you teach your students the social skills they will need to navigate through different aspects of their lives.

If you want to learn more about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum watch this overview video and request a free demo!

Author: Jen Falkowski, MEd — Supervisor of Special Education

Did you know that October is National Bullying Prevention Month? This month is all about promoting kindness, inclusion, and acceptance while encouraging students to pledge against bullying.

According to the PACER Center, children and teenagers with disabilities are two to three times more likely to be bullied than their peers. Additionally, having a physical or intellectual disability can make it more difficult for victims to address instances of bullying and stand up for themselves. In fact, one of the topics that HRC teaches students about is the difference between a friend, an acquaintance, and a bully. Students deserve to feel confident and empowered both in and out of the classroom, regardless of their abilities, which is exactly where our Healthy Relationships Curriculum can help teach students to feel more confident in who they are at the same time.

Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is built around understanding the importance of using diverse, accessible means of learning, which is why it includes nearly 200 demonstration videos, over 60 scenario cards to help students practice real-life skills, and fun, interactive role-playing games to act out the lessons.

• Nearly 200 Videos
• Concrete Visual Elements
• Lesson Activities & Games
• myHRC Online Portal houses many revisable documents to assist in teaching a wide range of individuals

We also provide ongoing consultation and support, comprehensive professional development, and tips and suggestions for teaching lesson content to educators, facilitators, and counselors.

If you want to learn more about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum and help your students succeed, watch this overview video and request a free demo!

 

Using pre-planned curriculum and lessons can help you get a head start on planning for the school year. However, tailoring lessons to meet the needs of your students can be challenging, especially when teaching across different age groups.

That’s why the Healthy Relationships Curriculum provides lesson plans specifically designed for various grade levels and even into adulthood. Our scope and sequence guide for each age group allows you to quickly see which lessons are recommended for different age groups.

Healthy Relationships Curriculum also includes many tools to make it easier for teachers to support their students’ learning needs. Some of these resources include:

• Nearly 200 Videos: Bringing many role plays and demonstrations to life for use inside and outside the classroom setting. See a sample video here.
• Tips & Suggestions For Teaching Lesson Content: Developed after years of implementing this program in our classrooms as well as hearing from thousands of teachers and therapists using the program nationwide.
• Comprehensive Professional Development: Available and encouraged to provide hands-on experience that builds familiarity and confidence with lesson content.
• Role Plays, Demonstrations, and Life-Skills Activities: The best way to teach life skills is by having students use them. Our role-playing demonstrations allow students to practice the skills they learned during their lessons.
• Online Progress Monitoring Tools: These tools make it possible to measure, assess, and compare skill levels consistently.
• And much more!

Our curriculum is centered around helping you teach your students critical life and social skills that will help them feel confident while they are in school and later in life.

If you want to learn more about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum, request a free demo!

July is here! Along with all the summer fun, it’s also Social Wellness Month. This month encourages everyone to build healthy relationships and boost their mental health through socializing.

How Can Healthy Relationships Help Students Build Safe Relationships?

Healthy Relationships guides students in understanding social norms, building social skills, and learning to take care of themselves. Our curriculum includes comprehensive lesson plans and tools to supplement them.

To keep our lesson plans fresh and engaging, we include:

• Nearly 200 Videos
• Concrete Visual Elements
• Lesson Activities & Games
• myHRC Online Portal houses many revisable documents to assist in teaching a wide range of individuals

We also provide ongoing consultation and support, comprehensive professional development, and tips and suggestions for teaching lesson content to educators, facilitators, and counselors.

If you want to learn more about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum and help your students succeed, watch this overview video and request a free demo!

 

Now that the end of the school year is upon us, most students and parents turn their attention to the excitement of summer break!

While a hiatus from the classroom is a welcome (and necessary!) part of the school year for both families and teachers, we know that summer break is also a time of planning and focus for teachers as they think about the impending school year.

Summer also allows for innovation and recreation, providing educators time to sit back, evaluate their current curriculum, and integrate changes and new approaches to their teaching methods.

If you’re in this phase of ideation, we can help!

Whether you’re looking to enhance your existing curriculum, more efficiently meet program standards, or cater to students’ needs, Healthy Relationships Curriculum has a wide variety of activities and plans that are adaptable to individual needs and instructor areas of focus.

The good news? You can try it for free. Start your free trial HERE, or if you’re simply looking for some motivation to jumpstart your summer lesson planning, check out our Scope and Sequence page.

This week, May 6-10^th, is Teacher Appreciation Week!

Thank you to all of the educators who strive every day to guide and support their students. As an educator, especially in the special education field, it can be challenging to meet students’ precise learning styles and needs. We created Healthy Relationships with this exact challenge in mind and include a variety of lessons and resources for both students and teachers.

Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum includes many tools to make it easier for teachers to support their students’ learning needs. Some of these resources include:

• Nearly 200 Videos: Bringing many role plays and demonstrations to life for use inside and outside the classroom setting. See a sample video here.
• Tips & Suggestions For Teaching Lesson Content: Developed after years of implementing this program in our classrooms as well as hearing from thousands of teachers and therapists using the program nationwide.
• Comprehensive Professional Development: Available and encouraged to provide hands-on experience that builds familiarity and confidence with lesson content.
• Role Plays, Demonstrations, and Life-Skills Activities: The best way to teach life skills is by having students use them. Our role-playing demonstrations allow students to practice the skills they learned during their lessons.
• Online Progress Monitoring Tools: These tools make it possible to consistently measure, assess and compare skill levels.
• And much more!

Our curriculum is centered around helping you teach your students critical life and social skills that will help them feel confident while they are in school and later in life.

If you want to learn more about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum watch this overview video and request a free demo!

Special education teachers know that students can struggle to understand how to properly take care of themselves. Often, special education teachers need support to find methods to teach these skills. Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is here to help.

Unlike other curriculums, special educators crafted our program specifically for their peers. It equips you with all the necessary resources and tools to effectively teach students how to take care of their health. Reaching students at their level is vital, especially when they need to learn about topics like hygiene.

The program includes nearly 200 videos and lessons to teach including lessons on health and hygiene. View a free resource video on how to brush teeth and floss here: https://healthyrelationshipscurriculum.org/lesson/daily-hygiene-brushing-and-flossing/

Our video lessons are just the tip of the iceberg. Other HRC resources include:

• Role Plays, Demonstrations, and Life-Skills Activities: The best way to teach life skills is by having students use them. Our role-playing demonstrations allow students to practice the skills they learned during their lessons.
• Over 80 Scenario Cards: These scenario cards turn the lessons into real-life situations to help them better understand the lessons.
• Online Progress Monitoring Tools: These tools make it possible to consistently measure, assess and compare skill levels.
• Lesson Activities & Games: Our games are designed to actively teach lessons in a fun, active way to help keep students motivated. These pre-made games were by our team of educators & counselors.
• And much more!

If you think you could benefit from our curriculum, I encourage you to look at our overview video and request a free demonstration of our Healthy Relationships Curriculum! You can also contact us anytime by reaching out through the chat function on the website. We are always happy to answer educators’ questions!

Author: Jen Falkowski, MEd — Supervisor of Special Education

February is “National Time Management” Month. This month is dedicated to honing our skills in using time efficiently. Many of us struggle to do this, especially in the workplace. Time management is an essential skill for special educators to teach their students!

The resources provided in our Healthy Relationships Curriculum equip special educators with the tools needed to help them be successful in the classroom and to help eliminate time lost by searching all over the Internet to find meaningful and effective lessons to teach challenging but needed social and life skills.  These tools include:

• Comprehensive Professional Development: Available and encouraged to provide hands-on experience that builds familiarity and confidence with lesson content.
• Role Playing, Demonstrations, and Life Skills Activities: With close to 200 role-play and demonstration videos, students engage in hands-on activities and enjoy interactive role-playing games to apply real-life skills.
• Over 80 Scenario Cards: These cards transform the lessons into practical, real-life situations, enhancing their comprehension of the lessons.

Healthy Relationships was created by teachers and counselors right here in our school. Using numerous evidence-based principles, our team used their combined experiences in the classroom to develop this comprehensive and effective program!

If you want to learn more about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum watch this overview video and request a free demo!

 

 

 

New year, new focus! As school is back in session after the holidays and the second half of the school year begins, many students struggle to stay focused. Previously we addressed the importance of routines throughout the holiday break, but maintaining that stability is not always realistic; and as special educators, we know all too well how difficult it is to re-establish routine after an interruption.

While concentration is a challenge this time of year, special education teachers understand their students’ needs –and our team works with them to find ways our curriculum can help their students stay on track.

At Healthy Relationships Curriculum, we understand that learning needs to be interactive for students to remain focused in school. Our curriculum incorporates activities and videos designed by our team of educators and counselors to ensure that lessons are taught in a fun way to help keep students motivated.

HRC offers extra support for teachers as well! Planning enjoyable lessons for students can be a time-consuming process. Recognizing this challenge, we provide consultations and development opportunities for our teachers, allowing them to support their students in their growth, both inside and outside the classroom.

If you want to help your students succeed and learn more about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum watch this overview video and request a free demo!