Health and the Human Body

Your Amazing Body! teaches students as early as pre-kindergarten about their amazing bodies and body systems. All lessons incorporate math, science, nutrition, fitness and social-emotional learning. Programs are customizable and typically one to four lessons. Lessons can be provided at Hult Center for Healthy Living or as outreach programs at any location in central Illinois.

Don’t see what you’re looking for?
Our team can customize a program specific to your needs.

By Grade

  • Pre-K: Brain, Heart, Lungs, Teeth (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Kindergarten: Brain, Heart, Lungs, Teeth (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • First Grade: Brain, Heart, Lungs, Muscles and Bones, Teeth (one to four lessons).
  • Second Grade: Muscles and Bones (one lesson, in house only).
  • Third Grade: Digestive System (one lesson, in house only).
  • Fourth Grade: Circulatory System (Heart and Lungs) (one lesson, in house only).
  • Fifth Grade: Circulatory System (Heart and Lungs) (one lesson, in house only).

By Topic

  • Brain: Pre-K, K, 1, 2 (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Heart: Pre-K, K, 1, 2 (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Lungs: Pre-K, K, 1, 2 (one to four lessons, in house only).
  • Teeth: Pre-K, K, 1 (one to two lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Muscles and Bones: 2 (one lesson, in house only).
  • Digestive System: 3 (one lesson, in house only).
  • Circulatory System: 4, 5 (Heart and Lungs) (one lesson, in house only).

Hult Center for Healthy Living health education empowers children to make informed choices for a healthier life.

Health and the Human Body

Hult Center for Healthy Living provides social and emotional learning to help children learn healthy coping skills, relationship-building skills and other key skills that are necessary for navigating life’s challenges and fostering good mental health later in life. Programs are customizable and typically one to three lessons. Lessons can be provided at Hult Center for Healthy Living or as outreach programs at any location in central Illinois.

Don’t see what you’re looking for?
Our team can customize a program specific to your needs.

By Grade

  • Pre-K: Brain, Emotions (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Kindergarten: Brain, Emotions (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • First Grade: Brain, Emotions (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Second Grade: Brain, Emotions (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Third Grade: Brain, Emotions (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Fourth Grade and Higher: See Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Programming.

By Topic

  • Brain: Pre-K, K, 1, 2, 3 (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Emotions: Pre-K, K, 1, 2, 3 (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Mental Health: See Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Programming.

Social-emotional learning helps children gain resilience and protective factors to improve health and mental health later in life.

Puberty and Sexual Health Education

It’s never too early to begin teaching children about their bodies. Hult Center for Healthy Living provides age-appropriate health education that aligns with Illinois Learning Standards, National Sex Education Standards and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) “What Works in Schools” three-pronged approach.

All education, especially education about bodies and reproductive health, should be positive, trauma-informed and empowering. Our recommended age-appropriate program sequence to support good reproductive health education for school/community settings is as follows:

1. Quality Comprehensive Health Education

Empower students with age-appropriate, comprehensive health education. Hult Center for Healthy Living uses the 3R (Rights, Respect and Responsibility) curriculum. Please refer to program recommendations that follow after No. 3 below.

2. Health Services

Health service needs for schools and community settings vary. Our team can assist your team in creating a list of resources to help your young people access comprehensive health and sexual health care. We can also provide Safe Zone training to clinical support team members.

  • Clinical staff: Safe Zone (two hours).
  • School-based health center: A school-based health center provides full-scope clinical services to students in your school and district. While there are costs to opening a school-based health center in your location, our team can assist you in obtaining a clinic and seeking grant funds to support it.
  • School nursing: If a school-based health center isn’t an option, a school nurse can provide basic care services and make referrals for reproductive and sexual health services. While there is a cost associated with a school nurse that will likely need to be budgeted annually, our team can help you obtain services through Carle Health.
  • GYT (Get Yourself Tested) events: GYT events are schoolwide events to increase access to sexual health screenings and health resources. Our team can help you coordinate GYT events at your school/community setting.

3. Safe and Supportive Environments

It’s best practice to provide trainings and host open discussions with school staff and parents/caregivers so that they can continue to support young people beyond the scope of health education programming.

  • Staff: Safe Zone (two-hour training).
  • Parents: Safe Zone or curriculum overview (two hours).

Our team works closely with community partners to coordinate education in order to ensure that participants are receiving education from quality community resources such as the Center for Prevention of Abuse. Health education and promotion should be paired with access to key health services and a safe and supportive school/community culture.

Quality Comprehensive Health Education

The most rigorous education plan should be chosen for your students.

  • Update with 3R curriculum.
  • Fourth through sixth grades: We All Have Mental Health (one to four lessons).
  • Seventh through eighth grades: Depression Awareness (one to four lessons).
  • Ninth through 11th grades: Depression Education and Suicide Awareness (one to four lessons).
  • 12th grade: QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) Gatekeeper Training (one-to-two-hour
    certification program).

Sex education empowers young people to make choices that align with their values and beliefs.

Mental HEalth and Suicide Prevention In School Settings

It’s never too early to begin teaching youth about mental health. Early in life, children should learn and practice key social-emotional skills such as coping, problem-solving, building healthy relationships and conflict resolution. These skills strengthen protective factors that can help them navigate adversity later in life. Middle and high school students should feel comfortable talking about their mental health and locating resources to help themselves or a loved one. Finally, our young people’s supportive adults (such as teachers, coaches, counselors and parents/caregivers) should be able to navigate these conversations with confidence. Schools should implement best-practice policies and prevention programs to promote good mental health for staff and students.

Education about mental health should never be sad or overwhelming. Education should be positive, trauma-informed and empowering. Our recommended age-appropriate program sequence for mental health and suicide prevention for school settings is as follows:

1. Empower Staff and Parents

Prior to providing education to students, it’s best practice to provide trainings and host open discussions with school staff and parents/caregivers.

  • Administrators and mental health leads: Consultation to Review Current Prevention and Postvention Policies and Resources (one hour).
  • Staff: QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) Gatekeeper Training (one-to-two-hour certification training).
  • Parents: QPR Gatekeeper Training or curriculum overview (one to two hours).

2. Empower Students

The most rigorous education plan should be chosen for your students; however, one program has shown to increase knowledge and improve behavior as it relates to program objectives.

  • Pre-K through third grade: Your Amazing Brain (one to two lessons).
  • Fourth through sixth grades: We All Have Mental Health (one to four lessons).
  • Seventh through eighth grades: Depression Awareness (one to four lessons).
  • Ninth through 11th grades: Depression Education and Suicide Awareness (one to four lessons).
  • 12th grade: QPR Gatekeeper Training (one-to-two-hour certification program).

3. Create a Culture of Good Mental Health

Promote good mental health year-round at every opportunity.

  • Provide resources and opportunities to staff (encourage classroom brain breaks, use mindful icebreakers at staff meetings and provide opportunities for self-healing).
  • Promote mental health awareness months/days (campaigns, tabling at lunch time, posters and positive messages in the hallways and break rooms, announcement messages).
  • Certified peer educators can help you create healthier school campuses. Ask our team about training high school students to serve as peer educators.

We’re empowering schools to foster good mental health through social-emotional learning, mental health education and suicide awareness.

Adolescent Health Navigating Health and Healthcare

It’s never too early to begin teaching young people about their health and the healthcare system. Especially by adolescence, young people should feel comfortable talking about their health and their care providers, and by middle and high school, they should feel comfortable locating resources to help themselves or a loved one.

All education, especially adolescent health education, should be positive, trauma-informed and empowering. Our recommended age-appropriate program sequence to support good adolescent health for school/community settings is as follows:

1. Quality Comprehensive Health Education

Empower students with age-appropriate, comprehensive health education. Hult Center for Healthy Living uses the 3R (Rights, Respect, and Responsibility) curriculum. Please refer to program recommendations that follow after No. 3 below.

2. Health Services

Health service needs for schools and community settings vary. Our team can assist your team in creating a list of resources to help your young people access comprehensive health and sexual health care. We can also provide Safe Zone training to clinical support team members.

  • Clinical staff: Safe Zone (two hours).
  • School-based health center: A school-based health center provides full-scope clinical services to students in your school and district. While there are costs to opening a school-based health center in your location, our team can assist you in obtaining a clinic and seeking grant funds to support it.
  • School nursing: If a school-based health center isn’t an option, a school nurse can provide basic care services and make referrals for reproductive and sexual health services. While there is a cost associated with a school nurse that will likely need to be budgeted annually, our team can help you obtain services through Carle Health.
  • GYT (Get Yourself Tested) events: GYT events are schoolwide events to increase access to sexual health screenings and health resources. Our team can help you coordinate GYT events at your school/community setting.

3. Safe and Supportive Environments

It’s best practice to provide trainings and host open discussions with school staff and parents/caregivers so that they can continue to support young people beyond the scope of health education programming.

  • Staff: Safe Zone (two-hour training).
  • Parents: Safe Zone or curriculum overview (two hours).

Adolescent health education empowers young people to feel comfortable talking about their health and locating resources to help themselves or a loved one.

Safe Sitting Babysitting Course

Hult Center for Healthy Living provides the Safe Sitter Babysitting Certification program for students in fourth through sixth grades.

The Safe Sitter babysitting program is an interactive, six-hour, instructor-led training designed to educate and empower young girls with the skills and knowledge they need to care for themselves and younger children. Youth will engage in fun games and role-playing exercises while learning skills such as choking rescue and CPR, assessing, and responding to injuries and illnesses, behavior management, practice diapering, ability to screen jobs and greeting employers. Through completion of the program, students will become certified Safe Sitter babysitters.

Safe Sitter equips young people with essential child care skills, safety knowledge and emergency response training.

Substance Use Prevention

It’s never too early to begin teaching youth about substance use prevention. Middle and high school students should feel comfortable talking about substance use issues and locating resources and programs to help themselves or a loved one. Finally, our young people’s supportive adults (such as teachers, coaches, counselors and parents/caregivers) should be able to navigate these conversations with confidence. Schools should implement best-practice policies and prevention programs to promote substance abuse prevention for staff and students.

Substance abuse education equips young people with the knowledge and skills for a lifetime of healthy choices, open communication, and informed decisions about drugs and alcohol. Education should be positive, trauma-informed and empowering. Our recommended age-appropriate program sequence for substance abuse prevention for school settings is as follows:

Don’t see what you’re looking for?
Our team can customize a program specific to your needs.

By Grade

  • Fourth Grade and Higher:

By Topic

  • Brain: Pre-K, K, 1, 2, 3 (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Emotions: Pre-K, K, 1, 2, 3 (one to three lessons, in house or outreach).
  • Mental Health: See Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Programming.

Substance use education equips young people with knowledge and skills for lifelong decision-making, communication, healthier choices and informed decisions about drugs and alcohol.