Chattanooga's Kids on the Block

Serving

Chattanooga's Kids on the Block serves the following counties:
Tennessee: Hamilton, Bledsoe, Franklin, Marion, Grundy, Rhea, Sequatchie, McMinn & Meigs
Georgia: Catoosa, Dade, and Walker

Pre-Kindergarten

(Time of puppet program: 20 minutes)

Life Lessons with Yasmin: Good manners, making new friends, and handwashing
A three mini script program with tips every child can use starting a new school year. This program is taught with the assistance of a twelve year old girl and her pet feline. She reviews simple good manners, gives tips on how to make new friends and ends with how to wash your hands. These scripts make life lessons a little bit easier for children.

Kindergarten

(Time of puppet program: 20 minutes)
Please choose one of the following:

342- Three Lessons For Me to Be Hurt Free: Stranger danger, area codes, and emergency plans
A three mini script program with important safety lessons all children should know. These lessons on stranger danger, area codes along with other important numbers and knowledge of emergency plans are taught by an eleven year old boy and his three friends. This program emphasizes everyday personal safety lessons for children.

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At the Dentist: Dental hygiene
A one script program that addresses the importance of dental hygiene. Two eleven year old boys prepare for a school project about going to the dentist. One plays the role of the dentist while attempting to rehearse and teaches his friend about the importance of dental hygiene. This program emphasizes the importance of brushing after eating, flossing every day and swishing and spitting if a toothbrush and floss are not available.

First (1st) Grade

(Time of puppet program: 30 minutes)

Squeaky Clean Hygiene: Handwashing and dental hygiene
A two script program that addresses the importance of dental hygiene and handwashing. Script one tells of an eleven year old boy preparing for a school project about going to the dentist. He stresses the importance of brushing after eating, flossing and swishing and spitting if there is not a toothbrush available. Second, Yasmin and her pet feline focus on how to wash your hands with warm soap and water to get rid of germs. These scripts make basic hygiene fun and easy to remember.

Physical Disabilities & Autism (Blindness, Cerebral Palsy, Autism)

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Learning Disabilities & Ashtma (ADHD & Allergies)

Second (2nd) Grade

(Time of puppet program: 45 minutes)

Accepting Differences: "Pick A Pair" (Please pick two of the following topics)

Learning Disabilities: ADHD
An eleven year old girl with a learning difference, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), explains her learning strategies to a friend and defines ADHD. This program provides information about ADHD so that children can better understand and accept those with this difference.

Physical Disabilities: Blindness & Cerebral Palsy
Two eleven year old boys, both with disabilities, learn how they both love camping, but accomplish tasks in a different way. These scripts are a fun and energetic way to introduce differences to others and educate children on how everyone needs and wants to be loved and respected in their own way.

Asthma & Food Allergies
An eleven year old girl is planning a party for the cast and crew of the school play. While describing the food menu to her cousin, she is alerted of his allergic reactions to some foods and how they trigger his asthma. This program encourages children to talk about their feelings and ask questions.

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Multiculturism
An eleven year old boy and his friend are working on a school project when he decides his name is too complicated to pronounce and wants to change it. He is often times picked on because his name is hard to say and wants to fit in with the other children. This program is designed to introduce children to the concept of culture and how it affects our individual lives and the collective society.

Third (3rd) Grade

(Time of puppet program: 1 hour)

** This program is mandatory**

Personal Safety: Child Abuse Prevention- physical & sexual abuse
A two script program that addresses prevention of both physical and sexual abuse. Script one is about an eleven year old boy who is physically abused by his mother, but learns reporting the abuse saved not only his life buy also his family's. Script two involves a fourteen year old girl who is abused by her mother's boyfriend, but learns after telling that all secrets aren't good to keep. Both scripts emphasize the importance of being safe, saying "no" to unsafe touches and reporting to a trusted adult anytime one feels unsafe.

Fourth (4th) Grade

(Time of puppet program: 45 minutes)
Please choose one of the following:

S.T.E.P.S.: Safety Talk Encouraging Peaceful Schools- Bullying prevention & anger management
A two script program that addresses bullying precautions and tips to promote a positive behavior and anger management in order to maintain respect, personal safety and the safety of others. Script one tells of an eleven year old boy who is being bullied, but finds comfort in telling a friend who has been bullied before. His friend, a fourteen year old girl, gives him advice on how to handle the situation without violence to make the bully stop. Another friend, explains different ways to diffuse and gain control of his anger without resorting to violence. This program emphasizes communication as the key to personal respect and safety without resorting to violence.

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Brain Power: Brain injury & epilepsy awareness
A two script program that addresses brain injury prevention and epilepsy awareness. Script one tells of a sixteen year old boy who helps his eleven year old sister with her school project. He recruits his fourteen year old friend, who has a brain injury. She learns that a person can keep a happy, healthy brain by following simple rules and taking proper precautions. Script two, is about two eleven year old boys working on a Roman Empire report. After discussing Julius Caesar and the likelihood of him having epilepsy, one of the boys gets the opportunity to explain more about seizure disorders and how each person's experience with epilepsy is different. This program emphasizes the importance of safety, prevention, awareness and accepting differences in others, especially when disabilities are not visible.

Fifth (5th) Grade

(Time of puppet program: 45 minutes)
Please choose one of the following:

Kids on the Move: Being active & healthy snacking
A two script program that addresses changing habits for better health through healthy snacking and being active. Script one is about an eleven year old girl who prepares a fruit stand at school to help promote healthy snacking. She explains to her teachers and classmates how fruits and vegetables provide different vitamins and nutrients that our bodies need to work well. Script two involves a husky eleven year old boy who likes to play video games and be a "couch potato", until he visits a friend's house. He soon learns different ways to move and be active and the importance of physical activity in his daily life.

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The Gift of Life: Organ donation awareness
A two script program on organ donation awareness. Script one is about an eleven year old boy who meets another boy that has recently had a heart transplant. He inquires about all the details and learns anyone can be an organ donor. Script two tells of an eleven year old girl who lost her brother in a car accident, but she and her family gained comfort and peace from the family's decision to donate his organs to help other people. These scripts emphasize communication with family and preparation for anything that may happen in the future.

Preschool through 1st Grade

Talking About Touching 15 lesson cards on safety that progress from "Car Safety" to the "Touching Rule". Our staff is certified to train teachers in the use of this curriculum. (This is not a program for children.)

Workshops

Many workshops are available. Read more...

Our funding sources include: Tennessee Department of Children Services, Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga, Civitan Club, BASF, Sertoma Club of Downtown Chattanooga, AT & T, Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, Tennessee Donor Services, United Way and several private foundations, and donations from community organizations. However, not all funding sources for Chattanooga's Kids on the Block cover programs in all counties.

The actual cost of a Kids on the Block program is over $1200.00.

Please contact us for more information.

Divorce (From a Child's Perspective)

2nd Grade and older audience
A three mini script program that addresses divorce from an eleven year old girl's point of view. She has her ups and downs with her parents' divorce, including feelings of guilt and being caught in the middle. She solves her problems by talking with her parents, her counselor and her best friend. The program emphasizes the importance of feelings and communications.

Bereavement: Coping with the loss of a loved one

A one script program in which an eleven year old girl is grieving the death of her mother. Her friend, another eleven year old girl, has a lot of insight because her brother was killed in a car crash two years earlier. Both girls represent two children who are at different points in the grieving process. Through these two characters, different aspects of bereavement are addressed. The script emphasizes the importance of communicating various feelings associated with loss and demonstrates coping skills children may employ when experiencing a personal tragedy. The exchange between the characters model supportive friendships and promotes sensitivity toward peers experiencing a loss. The script is designed to be used with children going through the grieving process and for audiences with some prior knowledge of grief and loss. This program is not intended for general audiences. Chattanooga's Kids on the Block encourages immediate counseling sessions and parent involvement before scheduling the bereavement program due to the sensitive nature of this topic it is recommended for classes of no more than 25 students per performance.

Autism

4th and 5th grade audience

A one script program about an eleven year old boy that explains his brother's developmental differences to a fourteen year old neighbor during an effort to collect clothing for the homeless. A bag of socks spills on the floor and he takes the opportunity to show that his fifteen year old brother, with autism, has a skill in sorting items. He rewards his brother and discusses the way his brother is taught and reinforced by parents and siblings at home.

HIV/AIDS

4th and 5th grade audience

A one script program about a fourteen year old girl practicing her science presentation in front of her neighbor. They both discuss the differences between viruses that are easy to catch (colds and flu) and viruses that are hard to catch (the AIDS virus). This script provides young people with information that will enable them to protect themselves from infections, germs and viruses.

Please contact us for more information.