Ages 8-16 · Book 4, Discernment · 4,299 places
The Inner Critic
Noticing comes before arguing. A child cannot answer a voice they have not registered is speaking.
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
- Session 1
Read the story and name the two voices in it
- Session 2
List what actually went in today — watched, scrolled, heard, said
- Session 3
Sort the list: which one did each thing feed
- Session 4
Each child changes ONE input before the next session
- Session 5
Come back and ask what changed, without judging the answer
Questions leaders ask
Is the inner critic 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 8-16. 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.
Will this work for the children in your area who need it most?
It is built to. Participation is allowed to look different — listening from the edge of the room counts, and so does leaving early. Nothing in the session requires reading, speaking, or sitting still to take part.
Where do we start if we have never run anything like this?
One child and one adult who keeps the pairing. Not a program. Build the good half-hour for that child first, and let the second family hear about it from the first.
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.
Inner Critic by metro area
Northeast
- Inner Critic — New York, NY
- Inner Critic — Philadelphia, PA
- Inner Critic — Boston, MA
- Inner Critic — Pittsburgh, PA
- Inner Critic — Providence, RI
- Inner Critic — Hartford, CT
- Inner Critic — Buffalo, NY
- Inner Critic — Rochester, NY
- Inner Critic — Bridgeport, CT
- Inner Critic — Albany, NY
- Inner Critic — Worcester, MA
- Inner Critic — Allentown, PA
- Inner Critic — Poughkeepsie metro area, NY
- Inner Critic — Syracuse, NY
- Inner Critic — Harrisburg, PA
- Inner Critic — New Haven, CT
- Inner Critic — Portland, ME
- Inner Critic — Scranton, PA
- Inner Critic — Lancaster, PA
- Inner Critic — York, PA
- Inner Critic — Springfield, MA
- Inner Critic — Waterbury, CT
- Inner Critic — Reading, PA
- Inner Critic — Manchester, NH
- Inner Critic — Trenton, NJ
- Inner Critic — Atlantic City, NJ
- Inner Critic — Utica, NY
- Inner Critic — Norwich, CT
- Inner Critic — Erie, PA
- Inner Critic — Binghamton, NY
- Inner Critic — Barnstable, MA
- Inner Critic — Burlington, VT
- Inner Critic — Kingston, NY
- Inner Critic — Amherst, MA
- Inner Critic — Chambersburg, PA
- Inner Critic — Bangor, ME
- Inner Critic — State College, PA
- Inner Critic — Vineland, NJ
- Inner Critic — Lebanon, PA
- Inner Critic — Johnstown, PA
- Inner Critic — Pittsfield, MA
- Inner Critic — Glens Falls, NY
- Inner Critic — Altoona, PA
- Inner Critic — Lewiston, ME
- Inner Critic — Williamsport, PA
- Inner Critic — Watertown, NY
- Inner Critic — Gettysburg, PA
- Inner Critic — Ithaca, NY
- Inner Critic — Elmira, NY
Midwest
- Inner Critic — Chicago, IL
- Inner Critic — Detroit, MI
- Inner Critic — Minneapolis, MN
- Inner Critic — St. Louis, MO
- Inner Critic — Cincinnati, OH
- Inner Critic — Kansas City, MO
- Inner Critic — Columbus, OH
- Inner Critic — Indianapolis, IN
- Inner Critic — Cleveland, OH
- Inner Critic — Milwaukee, WI
- Inner Critic — Grand Rapids, MI
- Inner Critic — Omaha, NE
- Inner Critic — Dayton, OH
- Inner Critic — Des Moines, IA
- Inner Critic — Madison, WI
- Inner Critic — Akron, OH
- Inner Critic — Wichita, KS
- Inner Critic — Toledo, OH
- Inner Critic — Springfield, MO
- Inner Critic — Lansing, MI
- Inner Critic — Fort Wayne, IN
- Inner Critic — Youngstown, OH
- Inner Critic — Flint, MI
- Inner Critic — Canton, OH
- Inner Critic — Davenport, IA
- Inner Critic — Ann Arbor, MI
- Inner Critic — Peoria, IL
- Inner Critic — Lincoln, NE
- Inner Critic — Rockford, IL
- Inner Critic — Green Bay, WI
- Inner Critic — South Bend, IN
- Inner Critic — Sioux Falls, SD
- Inner Critic — Duluth, MN
- Inner Critic — Cedar Rapids, IA
- Inner Critic — Evansville, IN
- Inner Critic — Fargo, ND
- Inner Critic — Kalamazoo, MI
- Inner Critic — Appleton, WI
- Inner Critic — Champaign, IL
- Inner Critic — Topeka, KS
- Inner Critic — Rochester, MN
- Inner Critic — Lafayette, IN
- Inner Critic — Columbia, MO
- Inner Critic — Joplin, MO
- Inner Critic — Elkhart, IN
- Inner Critic — Springfield, IL
- Inner Critic — St. Cloud, MN
- Inner Critic — Racine, WI
- Inner Critic — Saginaw, MI
- Inner Critic — Iowa City, IA
- Inner Critic — Muskegon, MI
- Inner Critic — Eau Claire, WI
- Inner Critic — Oshkosh, WI
- Inner Critic — Bloomington, IL
- Inner Critic — La Crosse, WI
- Inner Critic — Terre Haute, IN
- Inner Critic — Waterloo, IA
- Inner Critic — Kenosha, WI
- Inner Critic — Janesville, WI
- Inner Critic — Bloomington, IN
- Inner Critic — Jackson, MI
- Inner Critic — Traverse City, MI
- Inner Critic — Rapid City, SD
- Inner Critic — Monroe, MI
- Inner Critic — Jefferson City, MO
- Inner Critic — Niles, MI
- Inner Critic — Sioux City, IA
- Inner Critic — Bismarck, ND
- Inner Critic — Wausau, WI
- Inner Critic — Manhattan, KS
- Inner Critic — Springfield, OH
- Inner Critic — Battle Creek, MI
- Inner Critic — Ames, IA
- Inner Critic — Mansfield, OH
- Inner Critic — Lawrence, KS
- Inner Critic — St. Joseph, MO
- Inner Critic — Sheboygan, WI
- Inner Critic — Muncie, IN
- Inner Critic — Sandusky, OH
- Inner Critic — Michigan City, IN
- Inner Critic — Kankakee, IL
- Inner Critic — Grand Forks, ND
- Inner Critic — Mankato, MN
- Inner Critic — Fond du Lac, WI
- Inner Critic — Bay City, MI
- Inner Critic — Lima, OH
- Inner Critic — Dubuque, IA
- Inner Critic — Decatur, IL
- Inner Critic — Cape Girardeau, MO
- Inner Critic — Columbus, IN
- Inner Critic — Kokomo, IN
- Inner Critic — Midland, MI
- Inner Critic — Grand Island, NE
- Inner Critic — Minot, ND
South
- Inner Critic — Dallas, TX
- Inner Critic — Houston, TX
- Inner Critic — Atlanta, GA
- Inner Critic — Washington, DC
- Inner Critic — Miami, FL
- Inner Critic — Tampa, FL
- Inner Critic — Orlando, FL
- Inner Critic — Charlotte, NC
- Inner Critic — Baltimore, MD
- Inner Critic — San Antonio, TX
- Inner Critic — Austin, TX
- Inner Critic — Nashville, TN
- Inner Critic — Virginia Beach, VA
- Inner Critic — Jacksonville, FL
- Inner Critic — Raleigh, NC
- Inner Critic — Oklahoma City, OK
- Inner Critic — Louisville, KY
- Inner Critic — Richmond, VA
- Inner Critic — Memphis, TN
- Inner Critic — Birmingham, AL
- Inner Critic — Tulsa, OK
- Inner Critic — Greenville, SC
- Inner Critic — New Orleans, LA
- Inner Critic — Knoxville, TN
- Inner Critic — Sarasota metro area, FL
- Inner Critic — McAllen, TX
- Inner Critic — Charleston, SC
- Inner Critic — Baton Rouge, LA
- Inner Critic — El Paso, TX
- Inner Critic — Columbia, SC
- Inner Critic — Cape Coral, FL
- Inner Critic — Lakeland, FL
- Inner Critic — Greensboro, NC
- Inner Critic — Little Rock, AR
- Inner Critic — Deltona, FL
- Inner Critic — Winston-Salem, NC
- Inner Critic — Palm Bay, FL
- Inner Critic — Augusta, GA
- Inner Critic — Durham, NC
- Inner Critic — Fayetteville, AR
- Inner Critic — Jackson, MS
- Inner Critic — Chattanooga, TN
- Inner Critic — Port St. Lucie, FL
- Inner Critic — Huntsville, AL
- Inner Critic — Pensacola, FL
- Inner Critic — Lexington, KY
- Inner Critic — Killeen, TX
- Inner Critic — Wilmington, NC
- Inner Critic — Corpus Christi, TX
- Inner Critic — Ocala, FL
- Inner Critic — Savannah, GA
- Inner Critic — Brownsville, TX
- Inner Critic — Gulfport, MS
- Inner Critic — Myrtle Beach, SC
- Inner Critic — Lafayette, LA
- Inner Critic — Asheville, NC
- Inner Critic — Naples, FL
- Inner Critic — Mobile, AL
- Inner Critic — Spartanburg, SC
- Inner Critic — Beaumont, TX
- Inner Critic — Tallahassee, FL
- Inner Critic — Fayetteville, NC
- Inner Critic — Montgomery, AL
- Inner Critic — Shreveport, LA
- Inner Critic — Hickory, NC
- Inner Critic — Lubbock, TX
- Inner Critic — Huntington, WV
- Inner Critic — Gainesville, FL
- Inner Critic — Clarksville, TN
- Inner Critic — Columbus, GA
- Inner Critic — Roanoke, VA
- Inner Critic — Hagerstown, MD
- Inner Critic — Fort Walton Beach metro area, FL
- Inner Critic — Kingsport, TN
- Inner Critic — Waco, TX
- Inner Critic — Longview, TX
- Inner Critic — College Station, TX
- Inner Critic — Tuscaloosa, AL
- Inner Critic — Laredo, TX
- Inner Critic — Slidell, LA
- Inner Critic — Amarillo, TX
- Inner Critic — Lynchburg, VA
- Inner Critic — Daphne, AL
- Inner Critic — Tyler, TX
- Inner Critic — Lake Charles, LA
- Inner Critic — Hilton Head Island, SC
- Inner Critic — Macon, GA
- Inner Critic — Fort Smith, AR
- Inner Critic — Panama City, FL
- Inner Critic — Charlottesville, VA
- Inner Critic — Gainesville, GA
- Inner Critic — Athens, GA
- Inner Critic — Monroe, LA
- Inner Critic — Punta Gorda, FL
- Inner Critic — Jacksonville, NC
- Inner Critic — Johnson City, TN
- Inner Critic — Lexington Park, MD
- Inner Critic — Warner Robins, GA
- Inner Critic — Auburn, AL
- Inner Critic — Florence, SC
- Inner Critic — Charleston, WV
- Inner Critic — Houma, LA
- Inner Critic — Bowling Green, KY
- Inner Critic — Dover, DE
- Inner Critic — Midland, TX
- Inner Critic — Burlington, NC
- Inner Critic — Abilene, TX
- Inner Critic — Jackson, TN
- Inner Critic — Greenville, NC
- Inner Critic — Blacksburg, VA
- Inner Critic — Odessa, TX
- Inner Critic — Vero Beach metro area, FL
- Inner Critic — Homosassa Springs, FL
- Inner Critic — Decatur, AL
- Inner Critic — Hattiesburg, MS
- Inner Critic — The Villages metro area, FL
- Inner Critic — Florence, AL
- Inner Critic — Dothan, AL
- Inner Critic — Sherman, TX
- Inner Critic — Valdosta, GA
- Inner Critic — Winchester, VA
- Inner Critic — Wichita Falls, TX
- Inner Critic — Rocky Mount, NC
- Inner Critic — Alexandria, LA
- Inner Critic — Dalton, GA
- Inner Critic — Texarkana, TX
- Inner Critic — Albany, GA
- Inner Critic — Morgantown, WV
- Inner Critic — Hammond, LA
- Inner Critic — Harrisonburg, VA
- Inner Critic — Jonesboro, AR
- Inner Critic — Wheeling, WV
- Inner Critic — Cleveland, TN
- Inner Critic — Salisbury, MD
- Inner Critic — Staunton, VA
- Inner Critic — Morristown, TN
- Inner Critic — Elizabethtown, KY
- Inner Critic — Lawton, OK
- Inner Critic — Goldsboro, NC
- Inner Critic — San Angelo, TX
- Inner Critic — Brunswick, GA
- Inner Critic — Anniston, AL
- Inner Critic — Owensboro, KY
- Inner Critic — Steubenville, WV
- Inner Critic — Sebring, FL
- Inner Critic — Pinehurst, NC
- Inner Critic — Beckley, WV
- Inner Critic — Sumter, SC
- Inner Critic — Gadsden, AL
- Inner Critic — Paducah, KY
- Inner Critic — Rome, GA
- Inner Critic — Victoria, TX
- Inner Critic — Hot Springs, AR
- Inner Critic — Hinesville, GA
- Inner Critic — Parkersburg, WV
- Inner Critic — Enid, OK
- Inner Critic — Eagle Pass, TX
West
- Inner Critic — Los Angeles, CA
- Inner Critic — Phoenix, AZ
- Inner Critic — Riverside, CA
- Inner Critic — San Francisco, CA
- Inner Critic — Seattle, WA
- Inner Critic — San Diego, CA
- Inner Critic — Denver, CO
- Inner Critic — Portland, OR
- Inner Critic — Sacramento, CA
- Inner Critic — Las Vegas, NV
- Inner Critic — San Jose, CA
- Inner Critic — Salt Lake City, UT
- Inner Critic — Fresno, CA
- Inner Critic — Tucson, AZ
- Inner Critic — Honolulu, HI
- Inner Critic — Bakersfield, CA
- Inner Critic — Albuquerque, NM
- Inner Critic — Boise, ID
- Inner Critic — Oxnard, CA
- Inner Critic — Stockton, CA
- Inner Critic — Colorado Springs, CO
- Inner Critic — Provo, UT
- Inner Critic — Ogden, UT
- Inner Critic — Spokane, WA
- Inner Critic — Reno, NV
- Inner Critic — Modesto, CA
- Inner Critic — Santa Rosa, CA
- Inner Critic — Visalia, CA
- Inner Critic — Vallejo, CA
- Inner Critic — Salem, OR
- Inner Critic — Santa Maria, CA
- Inner Critic — Salinas, CA
- Inner Critic — Anchorage, AK
- Inner Critic — Eugene, OR
- Inner Critic — Greeley, CO
- Inner Critic — Fort Collins, CO
- Inner Critic — Boulder, CO
- Inner Critic — Kennewick, WA
- Inner Critic — Olympia, WA
- Inner Critic — Merced, CA
- Inner Critic — Bremerton, WA
- Inner Critic — San Luis Obispo, CA
- Inner Critic — Bend, OR
- Inner Critic — Yakima, WA
- Inner Critic — Santa Cruz, CA
- Inner Critic — Prescott metro area, AZ
- Inner Critic — Bellingham, WA
- Inner Critic — Las Cruces, NM
- Inner Critic — Lake Havasu City, AZ
- Inner Critic — Yuma, AZ
- Inner Critic — Medford, OR
- Inner Critic — St. George, UT
- Inner Critic — Chico, CA
- Inner Critic — Billings, MT
- Inner Critic — Coeur d'Alene, ID
- Inner Critic — Yuba City, CA
- Inner Critic — Redding, CA
- Inner Critic — El Centro, CA
- Inner Critic — Idaho Falls, ID
- Inner Critic — Pueblo, CO
- Inner Critic — Grand Junction, CO
- Inner Critic — Logan, UT
- Inner Critic — Maui, HI
- Inner Critic — Santa Fe, NM
- Inner Critic — Hanford, CA
- Inner Critic — Flagstaff, AZ
- Inner Critic — Mount Vernon, WA
- Inner Critic — Napa, CA
- Inner Critic — Albany, OR
- Inner Critic — Bozeman, MT
- Inner Critic — Missoula, MT
- Inner Critic — Wenatchee, WA
- Inner Critic — Sierra Vista, AZ
- Inner Critic — Twin Falls, ID
- Inner Critic — Farmington, NM
- Inner Critic — Longview, WA
- Inner Critic — Cheyenne, WY
- Inner Critic — Corvallis, OR
- Inner Critic — Helena, MT
- Inner Critic — Fairbanks, AK
- Inner Critic — Pocatello, ID
- Inner Critic — Grants Pass, OR
- Inner Critic — Great Falls, MT
- Inner Critic — Casper, WY
- Inner Critic — Lewiston, ID
- Inner Critic — Walla Walla, WA
- Inner Critic — Carson City, NV
Cities and all 3,143 US counties are covered too — every place page is live. The campaign sitemap lists every one.
