Tools for Life

Posted by Vanora Spreen 
 

Our guest speaker last week was Allen Croxall, theologist and entrepreneur, who presented an innovative program, Tools for Life – Relationship Building Solutions that is having a tremendous effect on school age children. 

This program is presented in collaboration with Kids Link from Kitchener-Waterloo.  Designed to help kids as young as three and up to thirteen develop relationship building skills that can help them cope with the numerous problems and challenges facing young people today.

Today's child is facing a myriad of challenges ranging from deportation letters, to classroom bullying, to domestic disputes and absent parents, which leads to poor school attendance, poor marks, poor behaviour and a general lack of focus.  The program helps children and parents identify the emotions each are facing and choose appropriate responses to these emotions.

 Tools for Life is brought into the classroom to create a safe environment for students to make mistakes, learn from them and know the teacher cares and that their ideas will not be ridiculed.  Focusing on solutions such as; ignore, talk it out, chance, walk away, compromise, share & take turns, apologize and asking for help, the program creates a positive classroom culture through the use of common language and standardized strategies.

A Tools for Life classroom kit is priced at $249 and noticeable positive changes happen within the first two weeks of introduction, creating fundamental partnerships with teachers, parents, students and the community.  Currently, there are a number of schools in Brampton that are interested in participating with this program.