Casey's Clubhouse Curriculum

The mission of Casey’s Clubhouse™ is to offer a holistic, CASEL-aligned integrated curriculum and support materials that make real differences in the lives of children and families, using Best Practices as our guide. We use a combination of research and technology, and pull from psychology and neuroscience as we look to support a whole mind-body system rather than just pieces and parts.

Regulation

The ability to monitor and manage your energy, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors based on the environment, people, and objects in your surroundings, leading to greater self-control.

Awareness

The ability to notice what's going on outside and inside of you. Awareness of factors like the environment and people around you, as well as your energy and how you feel, help you better direct your intentions and author your life.

Determination

The ability to focus your energy, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors toward a certain goal while facing both the comfortable and uncomfortable, exciting and boring, and positive and negative sides of the journey.

Problem-Solving

The ability to react and respond to problems by way of calmly assessing and applying fair solutions, using effective communication and cooperation.

Confidence

The ability to rely on, trust, and believe in yourself and your power in your life and in this world. This sureness leads to greater assertion for yourself and empathy for others. Confidence is the ability to rely on, trust, and believe in others, too.

Mastery

The dedication to learn, practice, and perform something so confidently that you can teach another. It is an ongoing practice rather than a goal to achieve.

SCALE-ING

We use the idea of scales to learn how to balance our interactions, energy, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. We introduce an acronym called SCALE to help kids regulate with the steps: Stop, Calculate, Act, Listen, and Evaluate.

AUTHORING

We use the idea of writing, narrating, and creating our own story to learn how to increase our awareness and "edit" our interactions, energy, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

TWO SIDES

We use the idea of a two-sided coin to think about how our determination is affected by positive and negative factors and how that connection changes our interactions, energy, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

FOUR-SQUARE

We use the idea of four-square, a familiar children's game, to show how small and big problems interact with frequency to define a problem and lead us to solutions for our interactions, energy, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

BILL OF RIGHTS

We use the idea of our bill of rights to better understand both our rights and responsibilities in friendship so we can gain the confidence we need to expect and deliver fair interactions, while balancing our energy, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

YOU TEACH ME

We use the idea of You Teach Me as we close out the year to encourage club members to teach us their best understanding of lessons involving interactions, energy, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

ME

ENERGY

EMOTION

THOUGHTs

BEHAVIOR

30 Stories, 30 Lessons, and 30 Home Activities

CHAPTER STORIES
Our animated series called Casey's Adventures follows the life of Casey, a 4th-grade boy who overcomes social challenges like making friends, building confidence before social events, problem-solving with friends, and handling bullying.
LESSONS
The weekly animated lesson breaks down each corresponding chapter and teaches the skills that Casey himself learns and practices! Casey provides an example of the topic by demonstrating how it applies to the real world.
HOME ACTIVITIES
A worksheet-style activity is sent home with each student to reinforce what was learned in the lesson. These home activities encourage students to include family members in their journey and share what Casey learned that week!

Chapter 1: Friendship Takes Courage

A nervous Casey talks to his mom before bedtime about his fears for the first day of school. His mom reminds him that he’s gotten through similar experiences following rules in a group setting, and making friendship connections using the Three Simple Rules of Friendship.

Club members are introduced to the first section of learning called Regulation. We learn about the rules we follow at Casey’s Clubhouse that give us the best opportunities to learn how to make friends! The rules follow an acronym called SCALE-ING.

Club members get the opportunity to brainstorm some rules of friendship that they think are important.

Casey is off to his first day of school. Though he’s nervous, he remembers what his mom said about the Three Simple Rules of Friendship. Casey meets his teacher, who shows the class an energy regulation exercise and asks the kids to introduce themselves.

Club members learn about the Energy Scale, which goes from Low energy to High energy. There are ways we can bring our energy up or down in different kinds of situations, like the 5-Step SCALE Process.

Club members practice SCALE-ing their energy with their family members.

Casey is eager to make new friends but worries that he won’t have the courage to. He reconnects with an acquaintance named Bridget from the previous year and they make plans to play during recess.

Club members learn about the Emotion Scale, which goes from Uncomfortable to Comfortable. Physical sensations in our bodies can give us hints to how we’re feeling. If we need to balance those sensations and get through challenging moments, we can use the 5-Step SCALE process of Emotions.

Club members practice SCALE-ing their emotions by thinking about how to navigate a challenging social situation. They have the opportunity to create Feeling Cards to help identify their emotions.

Casey and Bridget want to add another friend to their imaginary play game at recess. As Casey approaches Isaac, a friend from last year, he “mind reads” that Isaac isn’t going to like him anymore.

Club members learn about the Thought Scale, which goes from Negative to Positive. Sometimes negative thoughts pester us to make negative predictions or mind-read what our peers are thinking about us. We can balance those negative thoughts using the 5-Step SCALE Process of Thoughts.

Club members play a Mind-Reading Mini Game where they attempt to read another person’s thoughts. They then have the opportunity to practice SCALE-ing one of their current thoughts.

Casey gets invited to Isaac’s birthday party but learns that his best friend Bridget isn’t invited. He instantly worries that he’s going to be all alone at Isaac’s party because he doesn’t know any of the other kids!

Club members learn about the Friendship Scale, which goes from Unfriendly to Friendly. Sometimes the friendly pebbles we add to the Friendship scale just lead to friendliness between two people, and other times the pebbles add up to friendship. We can think about how our behaviors affect friendship by using the 5-Step SCALE Process of Friendship.

Club members practice using the 5-Step Scale Process of Friendship by thinking about a recent social situation or relationship.

Chapter 6: Casey Juggles Friends

Casey accidentally makes promises to two friends: a new friend he made at Isaac’s birthday party, and his best friend Bridget. When he can only fulfill one of them, the other friend feels hurt. Casey has to problem-solve his way through this predicament!

Club members are introduced to a new section of learning called Awareness. We are the author of our lives. As authors, we grow in our awareness of what we like, who we are, how we think and feel, and discover ways to write our own stories. We can ask ourselves, what does it mean to be a friend? What kind of friend would I like to have?

Club members write a “Want Ad” for a friend and get to choose friendship qualities that are important to them.

Isaac comes over for a playdate. Casey’s excitement soon turns into frustration when Isaac’s energy gets out of control and leads to Casey’s room and toys becoming a mess.

Club members learn about what it means to author a successful get-together or playdate, and how to use regulation skills to manage and achieve those expectations.

Club members practice writing “scripts” for play by reading scenes and choosing what they believe to be the best option to move the script forward.

Casey’s morning starts out with an unexpected bad moment, and he writes the story that three bad moments equals a bad day. What he doesn’t realize is how this will affect his mood for the rest of his day and the people around him.

Club members learn that the focus of our thoughts matter. If we focus on the positive, we tend to feel happier. If we get stuck on the bitter, we miss the sweet. We can use strategies like Goal Pies to recover from bitter moments and change our focus on the sweet moments.

Club members fill out a “Current” Pie of emotions, and then a Goal Pie. We learn that if we increase our awareness of how we are feeling daily and set goals for happiness, it is easier to change our focus and strive towards the positive.

Casey is nervous to see his friends again after letting his bad mood affect their relationship the day before. He battles with the negative thoughts that the little Negative Casey on his shoulder keeps whispering into his ear. Luckily, Positive Casey is on his other shoulder to provide more realistic and positive self-talk!

Club members learn that we are the narrators of our own stories. We cannot control everything that happens to us in our day, we get to tell our story in our own words. Our self-talk influences our energy, emotions, and behaviors. We can use skills to talk to ourselves in our heads more positively, and keep the negative thoughts at bay.

Club members practice using the 6 Essential Skills of Self-Talk by creating a character to get through a Negative Thought obstacle course.

Casey sees a flyer at his school for chess club. He asks his parents if he can join, and they agree but remind Casey that focusing on the fun-factor will help him have a great time with friends. On his first day, he faces a fifth-grader named Daniel, who spends the whole time bragging about how good he is. What will Casey do to keep his focus on having fun?

Club members learn how to author fun moments by keeping friendship and the fun-factor front and center. When we get too caught up in being right, winning, or being the best during competitive games, we can lose the fun element of the game!

Club members practice playing a game with their family members and then answer some questions about their experience.

Chapter 11: The Unfriending!

During their imaginary game at recess, Casey makes a joke while Bridget is trying to direct the story. Bridget gets upset thinking Casey isn’t taking the game seriously. To Casey’s surprise, Bridget “unfriends’ Casey during the next recess.

Club members are introduced to a new section called Determination, which is the energy behind achieving our goals. The journey toward a goal is often met with both positive and negative experiences: Pros and Cons. We cannot have one without the other, even in friendship, but the balance is important.

Club members brainstorm some pros and cons of friendship.

Casey talks to his dad about what he can do to fix his friendship with Bridget. They talk about what makes a healthy friendship and how compliments can make your friends feel important and heard. Casey puts his new skills to the test at school when his teacher Mrs. Morrison facilitates a conversation between him and Bridget.

Club members learn more about one of the Rules of Friendship: giving and receiving compliments.

Club members practice giving compliments to a friend, a grown-up and themself.

Casey and his little sister Mallory get into an argument. Casey’s mom helps facilitate a healthy discussion of feelings between the two siblings, teaching Casey how to use verbal and facial cues as hints.

Club members learn that hearing verbal cues and seeing facial cues helps one understand how others might be feeling.

Club members practice matching emotions to pictures of facial cues and descriptions of hearing cues.

Bridget and her friend Isabel teach Casey a skill called VAPorize to validate, assess, and problem-solve some feelings he’s having about his friends Joe and Samay.

Club members learn about a thought-challenging skill called VAPorize, which starts with validating your feelings, then assessing what’s true and untrue about your thought, and finally problem-solving the situation prompting the thought.

Club members practice VAPorizing thoughts with our VAPorize worksheet.

Casey gets invited to participate in his school district’s chess tournament. A nervous Casey must practice his skills of positive self-talk and focusing on the fun-factor, especially when he meets his opponent.

Club members learn about two essential components to a relationship: the you and the me. Friendship is a two-way street!

Club members practice using their skills from Section Three during an activity with their friends or family members.

Chapter 1: Friendship Takes Courage
Lesson 1: ME • SCALE-ING
Homeactivity 1: Rules Rule!

Chapter 2: The Frightful First Day of School

Chapter 1: Friendship Takes Courage
- Lesson 1: ME • SCALE-ING
- Homeactivity 1: Rules Rule!

Chapter 16: The Joke

Casey is spending recess with his new friend Daniel and Daniel’s friend group. He tells a joke which leads to one of Daniel’s friends teasing Daniel. Daniel deals with his hurt feelings in a dangerous way and Casey is left to sort the situation out.

Club members are introduced to a new section called Problem-Solving with our Four-Square Problem chart, which teaches the difference between small and big problems. We also learn the difference between friends, “frienemies” and enemies.

Club members brainstorm examples for the four types of problems in our Four-Square Problem chart.

Casey and Bridget have a disagreement during their imaginary play game. The friends use their skills to calm their frustration and problem-solve together.

Club members learn about Frustration Energy, which is when angry emotions create negative energy that builds up inside of you. When we feel like we’re going to burst, we either Act In–letting the energy create problems inside of us–or Act Out, letting that energy out at our friends and create problems for the relationship.

Club members write about what would happen if Bridget acted out, acted in, or used skills to get calm.

Testing Day is usually Casey’s favorite day of the year because of all the free time you get after you finish your test. However, this year doesn’t go as planned. Can Casey use his skills to deal with the unexpected changes?

Club members learn that sometimes our feelings can cause us to “act in” on ourselves or “act out” on our friends, even if we don’t mean to hurt them. We can use calming strategies to “power down” our feelings and regulate our bodies when we are in states of fear, anger, or anxiety.

Club members learn two calming strategies to use during the week and then record and rate the experience.

Casey imagines the day’s momentous events in Bridget’s perspective, and how she used the phrase “It’s Monkey!” to know when a situation with Daniel got too big for their friend group to handle on their own.

Club members learn about perspective, which is a way of thinking that measures the size of one problem against another problem. When our emotions magnify smaller problems into feeling like big problems, we can use the silly phrase “It’s Monkey!” to remind ourselves to use perspective.

Club members practice determining what kind of problems they can handle and what kind of problems require adult help.

Casey really doesn’t want to go to school and deal with threatening bullying behavior from Daniel, who just returned back from a suspension due to the other day’s events. Casey breaks down at the breakfast table, and he and his parents make a plan to talk to the school administration about his safety.

Club members are introduced to the Four-Square Solutions Chart to learn about possible solutions for different types of problems.

Club members examine varying degrees of problems and determine where they land on the Four-Square Problem Chart, and then brainstorm how they can respond with a solution.

Chapter 21: Friendship Rights

Casey has agreed to have a “friendship chat” with Daniel and the school counselor. He practices advocating for himself and discussing friendship rights and responsibilities with Daniel.

Club members are introduced to a new section called Confidence, which talks about following the Friendship Bill of Rights AND Responsibilities to feel confident in a friendship.

Club members examine different scenarios of Casey’s Adventures to determine what Rights and Responsibilities guide each of the characters.

Casey experiences the positive and negative “transactions” of friendship as Joe and Samay have an argument at the lunch table. He imagines their friendship as a bank account with positive deposits–compliments and apologies–and negative withdrawals–teasing and arguing.

Club members learn about positive reciprocity. Reciprocity is the give and take in relationships; when we act positively towards a friend, often we are met with positive actions in return! When our friendship rights and responsibilities are broken over and over again in a relationship, this can create a negative loop in a friendship.

Club members practice balancing a friendship “bank account” by labeling actions as withdrawals or deposits.

During a pivotal morning moment, Casey and his mom talk about using “I feel” statements to communicate how we’re feeling to others instead of letting uncomfortable feelings build up inside of us and affect our behaviors. Casey practices using “I feel” statements throughout the school day.

Club members learn that when we hold our feelings inside, we can act them out in negative ways. When we verbalize our feelings, we let the people know how we are experiencing the world around us.

Club members practice creating “I feel” statements by using a plastic bag overfilled with marbles or toys, representing the built-up emotions inside of us.

When Casey is feeling nervous about being a beginner at soccer on his school’s team, he talks to Bridget about all the special things that make Casey… Casey!

Club members learn about positive affirmations: positive statements we can say to ourselves to remind us that we are unique and valued just as we are.

Club members practice writing positive affirmations.

Casey feels very panicky when his mother reminds him that he will play in today’s soccer game, even though he’s a new member on the team. She teaches him a skill called “Imagine If,” where you imagine yourself as if you’re already a skilled player. This gives him the confidence to get out on the field and try his best.

Club members think about their friendship strengths and weaknesses–friendship rights and responsibilities that you actively fulfill and value, and friendship rights and responsibilities that you disregard or forget. The “Imagine If” technique helps us set goals and visualize ourselves practicing those actions that we tend to disregard.

Club members brainstorm their friendship strengths and weaknesses and set goals using the “Imagine If” technique.

Chapter 26: Independence Day

Casey spends the morning independently getting himself dressed and ready for school. He brings his newfound confidence to school and decides to be an upstander for a third grader Daniel is picking on while waiting for school to start. He stands up for the third grader while reminding his friend Daniel that bullying behavior is not okay.

Club members are introduced to the last section of learning called Mastery. Mastery is the ability and knowledge to use a skill effectively. Once you learn skills, you become more independent and confident.

Club members start prepping a presentation to teach their family members or classmates about a topic they learned at Casey’s Clubhouse.

Casey decides to bring one of his dad’s fragile vintage comic books to school since his friends are playing a superhero imaginary game. Things quickly go wrong when his friends Isaac and Bridget become dysregulated arguing over the comic book. Casey might not be able to repair the ripped comic book, but he CAN talk to his friend Isaac, who feels like a troublemaker because of his hyperactivity.

Club members learn that our social skills are superpowers. They teach us to love ourselves as we are: strengths AND weaknesses, and how to be aware of our uniqueness, energy, emotions, thoughts, and behaviors as we experience the world around us.

Club members are asked to collect wisdom from classmates, teachers, or parents about friendship and social skills.

Casey had struggled to come up with an expertise to present to his class, but realized he had an expertise in making friends. Even though some of his classmates tease him for his presentation subject, he finds confidence in his decision after speaking to some trusted adults about it. How will Casey’s presentation go?

Club members learn about what it means to have an “expertise” in something. You might not be perfect at something, but if you are skilled, work hard, and continue to develop it, you can become an expert!

Club members think about what they’d like to have an expertise in.

Casey went to bed so excited for the Last Day of School carnival but is heartbroken when he wakes up to rain. He talks to his mom about managing expectations and tries to stay positive about the day’s events. When an alternative surprise is promised, Casey must continue to stay regulated and manage his ever-changing expectations for the day.

Club members learn about expectations, which can prepare us for an event or a person, or set us up for disappointment. How we apply our expectations and respond to them is a skill that takes regulation, awareness, determination, problem-solving, and confidence! Luckily that’s exactly what we’ve been practicing at Casey’s Clubhouse.

Club members think about what is expected from them in a friendship, and what they expect out of others.

Casey feels nervous about the start of summer camp the next day. He and his parents have a very similar conversation from the one they had at the start of the new school year! They come up with a plan for Casey to write a list of ideas on how to make new friends.

Club members have a very big reason to celebrate! We have finished our 30-Lesson journey at Casey’s Clubhouse. Club members receive a certificate of completion.

We leave club members with a list of skills and ideas for friendship that can be referenced any time they need a helpful reminder!

the star of our series:

Meet Casey!

Casey is a 4th-grade student who loves playing make-believe, reading comics, and being a good friend. But like a lot of kids his age, he feels nervous when it comes to making new friends and being in new social situations.

Casey seeks out the wisdom of his parents, friends, and other adult helpers to get him through his most difficult moments. During his adventures, he also learns to use his own wisdom to come up with his own solutions and help his friends with their challenges.

the voice of the series:

Laura Schneider, LMHC

Meet the Founders

Laura Schneider, LMHC

Founder / Author / Narrator

Laura Schneider is a Licensed Mental Health Therapist in the state of Washington. She has been working as a mental health counselor since 1993, helping children, adolescents, and adults find balance, gain perspective, and learn effective skills to address life's challenges. In 2019, Laura retired from her private practice to focus full-time on Casey's Clubhouse.

Laura has been working with Leslie Fields on social skills groups since 2005. She believes that social-emotional skills are essential human skills and are best received in childhood, although accessible to all ages and stages.

Her goal now is to develop Casey's Clubhouse curriculum for professionals to use the curriculum both therapeutically and educationally. Laura also teaches parenting classes and consults with parents on effective parenting skills.

In addition to her work, Laura is married and as two children and two step-children who are all grown up! She loves to write, paint, draw, and travel.

Leslie Fields, LMHC

Founder

Leslie Fields currently works as a counselor in private practice for children, tweens, and parents. She is a Sandplay Practitioner, STA. Her passion as been to improve and enhance children's social experiences.

She worked with Terri Hollingsworth, LICSW, for 18 years as co-leader of Wally's Club. She then opened Wally's Club Eastside with Laura Schneider, LMHC, in 2005.

Together they developed their own social skills curriculum, workbook, and training program for Casey's Clubhouse.

In addition to her career, Ms. Fields is married and is a step-mom and grandmother. She loves her dog Mulligan, who is a Reading with Rover volunteer dog. She loves to play tennis, dance, drum, and travel.

Rachel Janis Doerflinger, BA

Creative Director

Rachel Janis Doerflinger holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Knox College in Illinois. She has been working since 2019 to help her mother-in-law, Laura Schneider, establish a new and contemporary creative direction for the Casey's Clubhouse brand.

She worked alongside Laura to create character rigs and animate the curriculum, lending her innovative eye for detail and organization to make the curriculum feel consistent and modern. She also writes web content, creates graphics, and polishes the look of the website.

When she's not working, Rachel loves writing poetry, making art, eating sushi, and spending time with her wife, calico cat, and doodle pup!

30 stories

30 lessons

30 home activities

Regulation: Developing calming skills so kids can regulate their energy, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in ways that make sense to their unique selves.
Awareness: Learning observational and mindfulness skills so kids can be aware of how they're feeling on the inside, and what's happening around them.
Determination: Identifying goals, assessing them in relation to their ability to get there, coming up with the steps, and then putting the steps into action.
Problem-Solving: Creating a framework to conceptualize and organize problems of varying degrees, and finding healthy solutions to those problems.
Confidence: Following a bill of fair, respectful, and compassionate Friendship Rights and Responsibilities to increase advocacy skills and self-worth.
Mastery: Feeling confident in the ability to use a skill so effectively, easily, and appropriately, that they can successfully teach another. Great for supporting our Peer Leaders.

30 animated stories and lessons about Casey and his friendship struggles and successes.
A comprehensive curriculum of lesson plans, home activities, worksheets, coloring pages, music, and more.
Ample resources for the grown-ups in a child's life.
Guaranteed assistance and customer service.
The amazing feeling that comes with making a difference in kid's lives, without having to reinvent the wheel to do so.

Our Curriculum

We teach 6 SECTIONS of skills...

Regulation

Awareness

Determination

Problem-Solving

Confidence

Mastery

Explored through 6 CONCEPTS...

SCALE-ING

AUTHORING

TWO SIDES

FOUR-SQUARE

BILL OF RIGHTS

YOU TEACH ME

...Guided by 5 PILLARS of learning.

30 Stories, 30 Lessons, and 30 Home Activities

SECTION 1:Regulation • SCALE-ING

Chapter 1 Summary

Lesson 1: ME • SCALE-ing

Home Activity 1: Rules Rule!

Chapter 2 Summary

Lesson 2: Energy • Energy Scale

Home Activity 2: Energy Matters

Chapter 3 Summary

Lesson 3: Emotions • Emotion Scale

Home Activity 3: Emotions in Motion

Chapter 4 Summary

Lesson 4: Thoughts • Thought Scale

Home Activity 4: Mind Reading

Chapter 5 Summary

Lesson 5: Behaviors • Friendship Scale

Home Activity 5: Just Pebbles

SECTION 2: Awareness • Authoring your Life

Chapter 6 Summary

Lesson 6: ME • Authoring Friendship

Home Activity 6: Friend Wanted

Chapter 7 Summary

Lesson 7: Energy • Authoring Play

Home Activity 7: Playwriting

Chapter 8 Summary

Lesson 8: Emotions • Authoring Happy

Home Activity 8: Emotions Pie

Chapter 9 Summary

Lesson 9: Thoughts • Authoring Your Day

Home Activity 9: Level UP!

Chapter 10 Summary

Lesson 10: Behaviors • Authoring Fun

Home Activity 10: Win/Win

SECTION 3: Determination • Two Sides of Friendship

Chapter 11 Summary

Lesson 11: ME • Two Sides: Pros and Cons

Home Activity 11: Pros Vs. Cons

Chapter 12 Summary

Lesson 12: Energy • Two Sides: Giving and Receiving

Home Activity 12: Giving and Receiving

Chapter 13 Summary

Lesson 13: Emotions • Two Sides: Hearing and Seeing

Home Activity 13: I Hear You, I See You

Chapter 14 Summary

Lesson 14: Thoughts • Two Sides: Positive and Negative

Home Activity 14: VAPorize Thoughts

Chapter 15 Summary

Lesson 15: Behaviors • Two Sides: You and Me

Home Activity 15: Just the Two of Us!

SECTION 4: Problem-Solving • Four-Square Problem-Solving

Chapter 16 Summary

Lesson 16: ME • Four-Square Problems

Home Activity 16: Problems, Problems, Problems

Chapter 17 Summary

Lesson 17: Energy • Four-Square Reactions: Energy

Home Activity 17: Frustration Energy

Chapter 18 Summary

Lesson 18: Emotions • Four-Square Reactions: Feelings

Home Activity 18: Ocean Breeze

Chapter 19 Summary

Lesson 19: Thoughts • Four-Square Reactions: Thoughts

Home Activity 19: Perspective

Chapter 20 Summary

Lesson 20: Behaviors • Four-Square Solutions

SECTION 1:
Regulation • SCALE-ING

What's included in the
Casey's Clubhouse Curriculum?