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Ellis Abel Learns.
Parenting Workshops icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 4, discernment, for children ages 5-16

Ages 5-16 · Book 4, Discernment · 4,299 places

Parenting Workshops

An evening that sends parents home with a question and an inventory rather than a list of apps to ban.

Built on Ellis Abel and the Two Wolves Within — “Choose what you feed within.” A character series, not a curriculum with a worldview attached.

The five sessions

  1. Session 1

    Read one chapter, no questions the first night

  2. Session 2

    Second night, ask what part they would change and why

  3. Session 3

    Third night, tell them a time you got this wrong yourself

  4. Session 4

    Fourth night, they pick the family's one step for the week

  5. Session 5

    Fifth night, come back to it and say out loud what changed

Questions leaders ask

Is parenting workshops in your area a religious program?

No. Ellis Abel is a character series. Each volume carries one named core value — this one is discernment — 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 5-16. 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.

What does a your area program need to run this?

A room, an adult, and thirty minutes. No kit, no screen, no prep beyond reading the page before the children arrive.

Can we run it as a drop-in rather than a series?

Yes. Each session stands alone, and the arc is stronger if they come back, but nothing breaks if a child only ever comes once.

The rules that make it work

This takes no side on any platform

No app is named as good or bad. That is what makes it usable in a public school, and it is also what makes it still true in three years.

Teach the question, not the rule

Rules expire when the technology changes. "Who made this and what do they want from me" works on something that has not been invented yet.

The child writes the rule

A limit imposed from above is complied with until it can be evaded. A limit a child helped write is one they can explain to a friend.

Adults do the inventory too

A grown-up listing their own real day, honestly, in front of the children, is the moment the session stops being a telling-off.

Self-talk is an input

The harshest voice most children hear is their own, and it is on the list with everything else because it works the same way.

Nobody is shamed for their list

The first honest inventory is always ugly. A room that reacts to that is a room that will only ever see edited lists afterwards.

Parenting Workshops by metro area

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

Related programs

Library Digital Programs icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 4, discernment, for children ages 6-16Library ProgramsAges 6-16After-School Tech and Coding Clubs icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 4, discernment, for children ages 8-16Tech ClubsAges 8-16Youth Media Programs icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 4, discernment, for children ages 10-18Youth MediaAges 10-18Scouts and Youth Clubs icon — Ellis Abel Learns Book 4, discernment, for children ages 8-16Scouts and ClubsAges 8-16

The rest of the series

Book 1AccountabilityBig feelings. Small choices. Real accountability.Book 2BelongingBeing brave means showing up anyway.Book 3ConfidenceTurn fear into confidence, one step at a time.Book 5EmpathyWhat matters more than earning a Gold Star?Book 6FaithDifference isn’t weakness. It’s a gift.