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Ellis Abel Learns.
Telling the Truth icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 4-10

Ages 4-10 · Book 1, Accountability · 4,299 places

Telling the Truth

Children lie about small things to avoid a big feeling. Take the size out of the feeling and most of the lying goes with it.

Built on Ellis Abel and the Red Block — “Big feelings. Small choices. Real accountability.” A character series, not a curriculum with a worldview attached.

The five sessions

  1. Session 1

    Read the story and stop at the moment the feeling takes over

  2. Session 2

    Name that feeling out loud, in the child's own word for it

  3. Session 3

    Find the exact second Ellis Abel chooses instead of reacts

  4. Session 4

    Each child names one thing that is theirs to own this week

  5. Session 5

    Build the small routine, then use it the next time it is hard

Questions leaders ask

Is telling the truth in your area a religious program?

No. Ellis Abel is a character series. Each volume carries one named core value — this one is accountability — and the story does the teaching. There is no doctrine in it, nothing to opt out of, and it is used in public schools, libraries and secular programs as readily as anywhere else.

What ages does this work for?

Ages 4-10. The story is read aloud, so a child who cannot read yet is fully in it, and the discussion prompts are written in two bands so one adult can hold a mixed-age room.

We have tried things like this in your area before and stopped. Why is this different?

Because it is ten minutes and it survives a missed night. There is no streak to break and nothing to catch up on — you pick up at the next chapter.

What if my child will not talk about it?

Then read it anyway and say nothing. Children answer days later, in the car, about something else entirely. The prompts are there when they are ready, not a toll you have to pay to finish the book.

The rules that make it work

This is a character story, not a behaviour plan

Ellis Abel is a core-values series. No child is assessed, scored, diagnosed or labelled anywhere in it. It gives a room shared language, and it stops there.

Big feelings are not misbehaviour

A four-year-old at full volume is not defying anyone. Treating the feeling as an offence teaches a child to hide it, which is the opposite of the skill.

Name first, always

Every attempt to fix a feeling before naming it fails, and it fails loudly. The order in the book is the order in the room.

Ownership is small and specific

"Be responsible" means nothing at four. One job, done alone, every day, means everything, and it generalises on its own.

Adults go first

The adult naming their own feeling out loud in front of the child does more work than any session. Children copy what they see under pressure.

Routines beat reminders

A routine a child can recite is theirs. A reminder an adult repeats is the adult's, and it has to be repeated forever.

Telling the Truth by metro area

Northeast

Midwest

South

West

Cities and all 3,143 US counties are covered too — every place page is live. The campaign sitemap lists every one.

Related programs

Big Feelings at Home icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 3-8Big FeelingsAges 3-8Tantrums and Meltdowns icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 2-6Tantrums and MeltdownsAges 2-6Calm-Down Corner at Home icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 3-8Calm-Down CornerAges 3-8Morning Routine icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 3-9Morning RoutineAges 3-9Bedtime Routine icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 3-9Bedtime RoutineAges 3-9Sibling Conflict icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 3-10Sibling ConflictAges 3-10Chores and Ownership icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 4-10Chores and OwnershipAges 4-10Saying Sorry and Meaning It icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 4-10Saying SorryAges 4-10When Something Is Lost or Broken icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 3-9Lost or BrokenAges 3-9Transitions and Change icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 3-9Transitions and ChangeAges 3-9Drop-Off and Separation icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 2-7Drop-OffAges 2-7Hitting, Biting and Throwing icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 1, accountability, for children ages 2-5Hitting and BitingAges 2-5

The rest of the series

Book 2BelongingBeing brave means showing up anyway.Book 3ConfidenceTurn fear into confidence, one step at a time.Book 4DiscernmentChoose what you feed within.Book 5EmpathyWhat matters more than earning a Gold Star?Book 6FaithDifference isn’t weakness. It’s a gift.