Playing the Game of Life® programming has positively impacted the lives of over 1,500 children ages 5–25, their families, and their caregivers at several private school and Boys and Girls Club locations throughout Miami-Dade County. The main premise of Playing the Game of Life® is that through the program’s social skills, nutrition, cooking, yoga, fine visual arts, and cultural drumming classes, children will acquire and/or strengthen skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors that form the building blocks of wellness. These areas of wellness include: self-awareness, self-control, self-expression, social interaction skills, and improved physical health. It is the instructor’s responsibility to encourage and challenge the child into learning. To achieve improvement in reading and literacy, and reduce acting out behavior, complementary activities that excite and motivate youth have been selected. The selection of these activities is twofold: 1) They stimulate and inspire the child to read and journal about them on a daily basis and, 2) Each one brings its own set of benefits for the whole child: physically, emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.

• Yoga increases flexibility, strength, self-control and inner peace and reduces stress
• Drumming teaches rhythm, musical tones, eye/hand coordination, & teamwork for group harmony
• Art nurtures originality, self-expression, and imagination. It also teaches environmental consciousness by using recycled materials
• Cooking and Food Preparation teaches culinary techniques, life skills, and Resourcefulness
• Nutrition emphasizes the correlation between food & health, thereby encouraging better choices and combating obesity

The Social Skills Class–Conscious Communication-was specifically designed in an effort to meet the special needs of the at-risk youth in Miami, including recent immigrants. It incorporates best-practices from various curricula, and is modified to better relate to the target population. Art activities and guided imagery are utilized to bring out feelings and reduce stress. Mind/Body lessons are designed sequentially and each topic builds on the previous one. Each lesson incorporates explicit learning activities and active youth involvement such as role-playing to instill knowledge and reinforce skills in the following topics:

• Self-Awareness techniques
• Positive Comm. Skills/ Speaking from Heart
• Identify Feelings: Responding vs. Reacting
• Tolerance
• Inclusion: Different Looks-Different Abilities
• Peace vs. War: Inner Peace
• Quieting & Loving the Inner Self
• Loving Others
• Healthy Lifestyle – Balanced Healthy Body
• Positive Thinking – Positive Energy