Introduction
The free, evidence-based SEL curriculum and facilitator’s guide are perfect for teachers, homeschoolers and healthcare professionals. Students will learn how to harness their passion and set life goals with our evidence-based workbook “Dream It!”
By the way, we need to say that “Dream It!” is designed to be self-guiding. That means any child or any adult can pick up the book and do it and learn everything they need to know. That being said, working with a group can be a little different.
Table of Contents
The “Dream It!” workbook and corresponding SEL curriculum is an evidence-based activity that improves social-emotional learning like optimistic thinking, growth mindset, hope and grit (perseverance) and other important life skills. It is also proven to improve the general school climate. More specifically, the book will help children translate their passion into realistic, tangible goals. It will also motivate children to higher achievement in all areas of their studies, like reading, writing and math, to help them achieve those goals.
Our SEL curriculum is the result of 6 university studies and over 5 years of work. Our research was conducted in real-world, public school classrooms. We used this experience to write and rewrite our book and to create the perfect SEL curriculum and facilitator’s guide. The curriculum breaks our groundbreaking book into a step-by-step, day-by-day guide. You can even teach the most important concepts in a single afternoon. This summary of concepts and activities is perfect for busy professionals.
Updates
Update: We’re proud to be accepted as part of the Social-Emotional Learning Provider’s Council. It’s a small group of professionals with evidence-based resources that team up to bring learning, leadership and action. It’s overseen by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Thanks!
Update 2: Finally, after a long delay due to the pandemic, the “Dream It! SEL Curriculum” is part of the Cincinnati Public Schools. Our book Dream It! and the SEL curriculum was born in the Cincinnati Public School system. And, now remain a part of their SEL-recommended programming.
Update 3: Dr Sara has also added a section for healthcare professionals with students facing challenges like anxiety or depression — challenges we think everyone faces from time to time.
Update 4: A new 2023 version with the bonus activities “Awards” and “Easter Egg Hunt” included.
About the book
Dream It! is chock full of evidence-based activities, games, and brainstorming questions to help you discover your passions, identify your strengths and values, create brand-new, unique-to-you dreams… and ultimately open the door to a life full of possibilities! So get ready—with this playbook as your guide, not even the sky’s the limit.
The Facilitator's Guide
& Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Curriculum
Important note: You don’t need the facilitator’s guide. The book is designed to be self-explanatory for children to complete independently. However, if you are a teacher, healthcare professional, or homeschool parent who wants to implement the book in a professional setting or over a set period of time — this guide is for you.
Facilitating the Dream It! Playbook is easy because the Playbook is designed to be self-explanatory. That being said, this guide gives advice on how to implement the Dream It! Playbook as a curriculum in your classroom, after-school program, workshop, or individually, such as tutoring, homeschooling or therapeutic activities.
Update: Version 6. Now including a section for health care professionals with suggested activities for challenges like anxiety and depression.
We offer solutions to break the book into different periods of time that can be delivered across:
- an afternoon (1-3 hour introduction),
- a few days or weeks (3 sessions overview),
- one semester (9 sessions),
- or, ideally, an entire school year (1 day per week).
We also summarize the concepts and the activities page by page. And, we give lots of suggestions for working with children, getting unstuck and maximizing dream potential.
Table of contents
The guide is an 18-page, comprehensive, day-by-day explanation. It looks long, but you can skip to the pages that you need and get a simple explanation. Rather than post the guide here online, we provide a PDF Document so that you can edit and customize your own course.
- Quick start
- Introduction
- Overview: How to Facilitate “Dream It!”
- The Art of Dream Mentorship
- Working with adults
- Working with children
- Structuring Sessions
- Quick Schedule (1-3 sessions)
- Short Schedule (9 sessions)
- Select descriptions of concepts and activities.
- Long Schedule (33 sessions)
- Page-by-page description of concepts and activities.
- Guiding a Session
- Example Session: Short Schedule
- Day 1
- Day 2+
- The final day
- Example Session: Short Schedule
- Working with Children in a Mental Health Setting
- Table of Specific Applications of Activities to Challenges
- How to Measure Results
- Dream Survey (Before and After)
FAQs
The Dream Workshop is a 1-hour introduction to the subject of how to dream. The Dream It! Curriculum is a deep dive with step-by-step instructions, games and activities. The Curriculum focuses on teaching kids important social-emotional skills like optimistic thinking, perseverance (grit), growth mindset, hope and more.
Yes! The Workshop would make a good introduction, but it is not necessary.
If you are working individually, no. The book is designed to be self-explanatory for children to complete independently. However, if you are a teacher, healthcare professional, or homeschool parent who wants to implement the book in a professional setting or over a set period of time — this guide is for you.
The facilitator’s guide is written with the professional educator or healthcare worker in mind.
Yes. Dream It! is a beautiful 4-color, 80-page workbook that will be a keepsake journal for your student. It is actually cheaper to purchase than it would be for you to make printouts.
Yes. Bulk discounts are available. Also, the book is very reasonably priced. It would cost much more just to make photocopies. Besides it makes a wonderful keepsake for the kids.
“Dream It!” is available everywhere books are sold. Order at your favorite bookstore or distributor.
Or, you can purchase signed books from us.
Or, you can also order direct from the publisher. Bulk discounts available for teachers, health care professionals, and nonprofit organizations, starting at 30% for 10+ copies! Call Magination Press at (800) 374-2721. APA members get a discount for even 1 book.
All you need is a student, the “Dream It! Playbook,” a pencil, and the facilitator’s guide.
Get started making dreams real now
Download the FREE Facilitator's Guide
Please send us some pictures of your dreams or group in action. And, we welcome comments and suggestions for improvement.
Evidence-Based Results
The Dream It! Curriculum is based on our research projects with the University of Cincinnati in YMCA after-school programs and Cincinnati Public Schools using the Dream It! Playbook. We conducted 6 research projects over 5 years. Our most recent study was published in the peer-reviewed, scientific journal Child & Youth Care Forum.
Read the summary of our dream research here. Below are a few highlights.
More
Dreams
Better
Dreams
What are social-emotional skills?
Per the CASEL website: “Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.”
In other words, emotions like passion are fundamental for helping a student find motivation and stay focused. An example we like to use is that if a student likes to explore, they may want to be an astronaut, and the excitement and passion of that dream will fuel their motivation to learn math and science.
The Dream It! SEL Curriculum is scientifically proven to increase the following social-emotional skills. Read more about our dream research.
Optimistic Thinking
Grit
Hope
Growth Mindset
Don't take our word for it
These other organizations are also using the Dream It! SEL Curriculum.
“Dream It!” has been selected by Reading Is Fundamental as part of their Social-Emotional Learning Collection. Pictured here is “Dream It!” on the table at the American Psychological Association annual conference.
“Dream It!” made the Children’s Book Council’s Express Yourself Showcase.
PS. That’s a character from our book, the Donkeycorn, a donkey dressed as a unicorn. It symbolizes how living your dream may be just be a state of mind.
This fall 2020 Cincinnati Public School social workers will be implementing the Dream It! Curriculum.
World Vision has included the Dream Workshop on their bookshelf across the globe, and provided they find the funding, they will also be implementing the Dream It! Curriculum. (It’s a little challenging due to the need to translate the book to every language.)
The YMCA is where we did a year’s worth of testing and improving.
And there are many more local organizations.
You should change the title of the book to: "Live the life YOU want to live if YOU put your mind to it!
Get started making dreams real now
Download the FREE Facilitator's Guide
Please send us some pictures of your dreams or group in action. And, we welcome comments and suggestions for improvement.
