K to Grade 8 School Curriculum
Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe
Childhelp Speak Up Be Safe is the only evidence-based, child-focused approach designed to help break the cycle of child abuse. It is a comprehensive curriculum for grades pre-kindergarten through 12th grade designed to build safety skills to prevent and interrupt various types of abuse – physical, emotional, sexual, neglect, bullying, and cyberabuse.
The program focuses on enhancing the child’s overall sense of confidence about safety. It promotes respect for self and peers that can be applied to general as well as potentially harmful situations.
The overarching goal of this curriculum is to provide students with the skills to identify and approach a safe adult about unsafe situations. Listed below is the approach for various grade levels. For more information about this program, see Curriculum – Childhelp.
Curriculum Focus by Grade Levels
Grades K – 2
A primary focus for the earliest age groups is emphasizing that adults are responsible to keep children safe. Students learn basic concepts of personal safety and how to identify safe adults in their lives.
Grades 3 – 5
Lessons emphasize that adults are responsible for child safety and that, by learning and using a few key safety rules, children can help those adults keep them safe. Students learn how to recognize potentially unsafe situations. They identify their safe adults and practice using the safety rules.
Grades 6 – 8
While adults continue to be responsible for child safety, lessons acknowledge the growing responsibilities and privileges of students in this age group that can present opportunities for potentially unsafe situations. Students learn to recognize possible risks and practice resistance strategies they can use until they can talk to a safe adult.
Grades 9 – 12
Lessons address the increasing independence of adolescents, with emphasis on the importance of recognizing unhealthy relationships and unsafe situations and knowing ways to prevent abuse and get help. Students develop a broader understanding of abusive behavior and preventive approaches while continuing to identify safe adults and peers that can form a robust safety network.
Grades 9-12 School Curriculum
Safe Environment Curricula and Resources for Parish Religious Education Programs (Grades 1-8)
Safe Sheep In Our Flock (Grades 1-4): Safe Sheep is a Catholic faith-based “safe touch” and general safety program for primary grades. Safe Sheep delivers the sensitive subjects of “safe touch” with age-appropriate candor presented through engaging animation, ventriloquism, and humor.
What Tadoo (Grades 1-2): With the help of two puppet frogs, What and Tadoo, Thaddeus learns how to protect himself from strangers with four basic rules: Say No, Get Away, Tell Someone, and if needed, Yell. Highly recommended by prevention professionals, this program looks at the lures strangers use to entice children and the “uh-oh feeling” they experience with certain touches.
What Tadoo with Secrets (Grades 3-4): Seven-year-old Julliette learns that secrets can be good or bad and that telling bad secrets to a caring adult is the right thing to do. Professor Sir Hillary Von Carp and his wise frog friends, What and Tadoo, team up to teach important lessons in making choices, distinguishing “good” secrets from “bad,” and following basic rules for getting help or helping oneself.
If It Happens to You (Grades 5-8): This program is designed to help young teens understand that abuse of all types is more common than they think, and if it happens to them, they need to tell a trusted adult. It examines the different types of abuse that can occur, including physical, emotional, and sexual, and it helps young teens understand that the victim is never at fault and did not cause or deserve the abuse. One of the biggest reasons victims do not speak out is because they think no one will believe them. This program assures young people that while this can happen in some cases, the victim must continue to speak out until someone listens and takes what they say seriously. Use this program to educate students and help them come forward if they have been abused.
General Resources: Books for Children
God Made All of Me: A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies (God Made Me) Hardcover–September 8, 2015
by Justin S. Holcomb (Author), Lindsey A. Holcomb (Author), & 1 more
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 2,976 ratings
Part of: God Made Me (8 books)
See all formats and editions
God Made All of Me by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb is an invaluable resource and beautifully illustrated story to help families talk about sensitive issues with two- to eight-year-old children. Because the private parts of our bodies are private, home is the ideal environment for a child to learn about his or her body and how it should be treated by others—without conveying a message of shame. Through carefully written language and relatable storytelling, God Made All of Me helps parents navigate discussion that can so easily be warped into confusion, embarrassment, and secrecy. Instead of instilling a message that their bodies are shameful—which can often prevent children from recognizing and reporting sexual abuse—Justin and Lindsey Holcomb equip parents to build a first line of defense against sexual abuse in the safety of their own homes. This helpful guide starts from the fundamental truth that God created everything and applies that truth—the doctrine of creation—to kids and their bodies. With the help of God Made All of Me, parents and caregivers can begin conversations with boys and girls about their bodies, helping kids understand the difference between the appropriate and inappropriate touch of others. This life-changing resource shows readers how to establish the foundation for a healthy bond with their children to meet increasing challenges of sexuality, which they will inevitably confront in childhood and adolescence. By teaching their children how to establish body and health boundaries, parents are imparting invaluable skills for their kids to express thoughts and feelings. God Made All of Me is the first children’s book written by Rid of My Disgrace authors, Justin and Lindsey Holcomb. Parents of young children themselves, the Holcombs are profoundly aware of the dangers kids face, and they regularly counsel victims of sexual abuse. Explore God Made All of Me and find encouragement, clear guidance, and the tools necessary to facilitate open conversations about how your children can protect their bodies, an important step in keeping them as safe as possible.
Body Boundaries Make Me Stronger: Personal Safety Book for Kids about Body Safety, Personal Space, Private Parts and Consent that Teaches Social Skills and Body Awareness (World of Kids Emotions) Paperback– November 26, 2022
by Elizabeth Cole (Author), Julia Kamenshikova (Illustrator)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 778 ratings
Part of: World of Kids Emotions (8 books)
See all formats and editions
Every parent must navigate the tricky situation of teaching kids about personal boundaries in a healthy, age-appropriate manner. Finding the right personal safety books to do it, however, just got easier with this book about personal space.
Little Nick’s story is a beautifully illustrated consent book for parents to read with their little boys and girls. In this boundaries for kids book, Little Nick experiences several situations that make him uncomfortable, but once he tells his parents, he gains new ways to address the situations.
What Kids Will Learn:
- Body safety and awareness
- Social skills
- Consent for touch and no touch
- Good touch, bad touch differentiation
- Stranger danger
Little Nick’s story provides a great guide for social emotional learning for kids. All of the situations in the children’s safety books are relatable and useful for teaching consent to children in an age-appropriate manner, whether they’re a boy or girl.
The exceptional story lets kids see who their body belongs to, how to express their feelings in what’s said, what rules they might set up, and when there need to be exceptions to things like underpants for doctors.
This baby and child safety book is great conversation starter that kids can use while learning to read. The social emotional learning book for kids features rhyming text and high-quality illustrations that help children read the story themselves as they learn about good touch, bad touch for kids.
This body safety book for kids also promotes the basics for teaching kids about private parts. This kids’ book about safety increases body awareness for kids and is an excellent addition to any child’s library.
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Body Boundaries Make Me Stronger is part of a series of social emotional books for kids that explore emotions, feelings, and social skills. This story is designed to help parents talk to their child about self-care, keeping safe, growing up, how to say what makes them uncomfortable, and much more.
So, don’t wait and add this book to a child’s reading today!
Let’s Talk about Body Boundaries: Body Safety Book for Kids about Consent, Personal Space, Private Parts and Friendship, that helps toddlers and children recognize their own emotions and feelings Paperback – August 31, 2023
by Julia Emote (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 49 ratings
See all formats and editions
👪 Are you a parent in search of a tool to teach your kids about body boundaries and personal safety in an easy and natural way? 📚 This extraordinary book guides you and your child through vital lessons on personal safety, consent, respect, and navigating relationships.
🌟 This comprehensive resource combines elements of personal safety books for children’s 👧👦 and social emotional books for kids. It’s designed to facilitate social emotional learning for kids while addressing crucial topics like body boundaries, personal safety and consent.
This book helps to understand:
• 🚸 body boundaries, personal safety and consent
• 🤗 personal space, safe touch, and inappropriate touching
• 🔒 private parts and the importance of keeping them private
• 🌱 how to develop respect for themselves and others
• 💬 how to express their emotions and foster healthy friendships
👶 This exceptional body safety book for kids is suitable for children of all ages, from babies and toddlers to young boys and girls. It covers essential topics, including private parts, good touch, bad touch, and the concept that their body belongs to them.
Through relatable stories and engaging illustrations, children are guided to understand and manage their emotions and feelings. This book promotes social skills and helps children establish personal boundaries while respecting those of others.
🤝 Let’s Talk about Body Boundaries is not just a children’s safety book – it’s a valuable addition to any child’s library, fostering emotional intelligence and social emotional learning for kids. Parents can use this book to initiate meaningful conversations and empower their children with the knowledge they need to navigate personal boundaries and consent confidently.
🌟 Ensure your child’s safety and growth today – order the book now! 📖
General Resources: Parent Guides
SAFE ENVIRONMENT RESOURCES FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES FOR PARENTS AND/OR CLASSROOM USE
ABUSE PREVENTION TIPS FOR PARENTS
General Resources: For Ministers
Creating Safe and Sacred Places: Identifying, Preventing, and Healing Sexual Abuse
(4 Reviews)
By Laurie Delgatto-Whitten, Gerard McGlone and Mary Shrader
$29.25
Your ministry with young people begins by building relationships that include appropriate boundaries. Creating Safe and Sacred Places is the first resource of its kind in response to The Charter for the Protection of Children and Youth (issued by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops). The charter calls, in part, for dioceses, schools, and parishes to establish “safe environment” programs. Creating Safe and Sacred Places is written by an expert in the field of sexual abuse and by a veteran youth minister. The manual provides information on procedures and strategies to promote a safe environment, including material for training parents, ministers, educators, and church personnel in identifying, preventing, and healing sexual abuse.
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General Resources: Videos for Children
My Body Safety Rules – 5 things every child should know
Body Boundaries Make Me Stronger by Elizabeth Cole | Body Safety, Private Parts & Consent
My Body Belongs To Me: From My Head, To My Toes
General Resources: Video for Parents
A FAMILY’S RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ABUSE
Protecting Our Children: A Family’s Response to Sexual Abuse, a short documentary film produced by the Knights of Columbus, offers families a deeply personal and practical account of how one Knight and his family addressed their son’s abuse by a close family friend. The film presents parents with the scope and scale of the risks families face from sexual abuse in today’s society and provides them with knowledge and concrete steps they can follow to help keep their children safe. The Guide For Families is a practical resource that contains useful information to help families protect their children from the risk of abuse.
