YOUTH
PROGRAMS
CHARACTER EDUCATION AND LIFE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUTH
Imagine what the future would be like if we prepared our youth with skills for life?
Our interactive youth programs are specifically designed character education to ensure the learning and retention of necessary life skills to aid in each youth’s journey of personal growth. Our youth programs are an excellent educational approach to interactive learning, as our horse "teachers" will provide experiential teachable moments that the participants will never forget.
The hands-on component involved in working with the horses, gives youths an experience to pull from when they are faced with choices and challenges in everyday life. Epona's character education programs can be completely customized to your school or organization, between 3 and 12 sessions. This allows our facilitators to not only ensure the effectiveness of the program, but also to track the advancements in each of the youth involved.
Prepare your children and youth to take on the challenges of life.
"I had fun and I haven’t had fun in a while, I can’t wait to come back."
11 YEARS OLD
WHAT CAN A 1200 LB TEACHER DO FOR OUR KIDS?
The value of working with horses is studied and proven! Working with horses in this specific skills development program is a unique way to teach young people. Horses don't use words but communicate through body language. In our program, students are required to utilize clear messages, sharp listening, and slow down to read what the teachers are saying. Additionally, horses require assertive leadership but fear aggression.
All these experiential programs for youth are not only educational but have been designed for youth to acquire strength-based life skills (increased social competence and social awareness, better self-awareness, improvement in goal-oriented behavior, more sophisticated communication, enhanced problem-solving, a better understanding of body language, respecting personal boundaries, and much more! Equine Assisted Learning acts as an important educational tool to help to develop empathy and kindness as well as combat behavioral disorders, low self-esteem, bullying, drug abuse, emotional issues, poor communication skills, inability to work with others and so much more.
EDUCATIONAL TOOLS THAT DELIVER FAST, EFFECTIVE RESULTS.
Albert Wright studied methods of education extensively and concluded a need for change from the traditional classroom and lecture format to an educational alternative called "participative method." This method focuses on the experiential process of learning rather than the mere transmission of information. Experiential learning has recently been termed "the natural way of learning," and defined as the process by which the experience of the learner is reflected upon, from which new insights emerge.
Horses are an ideal educational tool for use with children. Once a child is taught the basics of safely handling a horse, he or she can become the leader the horse seeks. When the horse feels safe and at peace with the person, cooperation is there 100% and the child can easily get the horse to cooperate and perform the task asked of it. Bringing that piece back to their lives as everything is a parallel to how to work with people and themselves in their own lives.
"We need more creative ways to teach youth. This program does just that! My students will hold this creative and positive learning experience in their memories forever. Thanks again!"
TEACHER
GIVE YOUR STUDENTS THE SKILLS NECESSARY TO TAKE ON THE CHALLENGES THAT LIFE THROWS AT THEM.
Each program has an objective that is interlaced in the next program so that your participants keep learning and building stronger skills each week, hence, creating an armour of skills to take into the world and that is proven to work.
A little girl from one of our 12-week curriculums stands up on her last day to choose and explain her word from the achievement board. This little girl has FAS, has been bullied or ignored by her peers and when she started the program was afraid to speak up or express herself. On their last day, she picks 8 words, instead of one and explained each word and why she picked it. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, her peers, who once bullied and ignored her, began to clap at her accomplishment. What an amazing moment!
CURRICULUM PROGRAMS
This specific BuildingBlock™ Curriculum Series is a great alternative to traditional education. One of the many bonuses of working with horses vs a classroom setting is the component of interactivity because we all learn differently, but we can all take away lessons that we learn through our experiences. Each of our objectively driven exercises are custom designed to maximize learning potential and focus on developing individual skills as participants work through fun, interactive group challenges in an experiential environment.
Emphasizing self-responsibility, participative education involves the students in experiences relevant to his or her future and provide the students with the opportunity of learning from these experiences.
Teams will work to; develop self-reliance, accept responsibility and accountability, overcome barriers to find change, be encouraged to be creative and innovative, find opportunity in working together, realize the benefits associated with effective communication, recognize the value of mutual trust, respect, and personal integrity… All while having a blast!
ANTI BULLYING PROGRAM
The best way to help children not become victims of bullies is by teaching them bully-proofing skills. Victims of bullies usually exhibit poor communication skills and tend to be left out of activities, leaving them isolated. Our anti bullying skills development programs have proven to be ideal for a child who exhibits anti-social communication skills as they provide training in social skills which improves communication skills, emotional, physical, mental and spiritual wellness, self-esteem, and encourages sensory stimulation and ultimately, integration.
A child with bullying issues may be just as much a victim in his own life as the child he directs his aggression towards. Many bullies are children who have been overlooked, misdiagnosed, suffering from neurological disabilities, or abused children themselves. Our bully proofing skill development programs are ideal for a child who exhibits aggressive behavior by promoting positive leadership skills, developing choice-making skills and goal-setting skills and encouraging responsibility, creativity and laughter.
The youth that teachers, counselors and the principal feel display behavioural issues, or who are withdrawn, will benefit most from the program.
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Instilling a sense of leadership in young people is one of the most important facets of raising a child. There is much that can be learned in school and through interaction with their peers, but one of the most important things that we have to do as adults is learn to instill the values of true leadership in the youth of today. What you learn is important, however what you remember is priceless.
Working with horses creates a unique memory that causes the particpants to remember the training far longer than if sitting in ‘just-another classroom’. Empowering each individual through group exercises with a focus on individual qualities while having some extreme fun. Students will be offered the opportunity to develop leadership, effective communication, listening skills, problem solving, negotiation, and teamwork!
Children and young people who have the chance to work with our youth leadership development programs are able to learn how to modify their behavior through sets of exercises that will remain with them for the rest of their lives. It is the experience of being in close contact with horses that has the most effect on young people.