Our Whole Lives: Sexuality Education for Grades K-1 and Grades 4-6

1. Parents are the primary sexuality educators
The term "parents" refers to parents, guardians, and others who have parental responsibility for the children in the program. Children learn about sexuality beginning at birth and continuing throughout their lives.

2. Sexuality education begins (and continues) at home.
Children learn about sexuality from how people touch them, talk with them, and expect them to behave. Messages that they receive affect their future attitudes, values, and behaviors. Responsibility of the educating institution is to provide resources that help parents talk about sexuality with their children.

3. Sexuality education is a partnership between the educating institution and the home.
Two fundamental goals of these programs are to forge a strong partnership between the educating institution and the home, and to reinforce strong bonds between parent and child. The larger community of educators and caregivers can have a positive influence on children's sexual health.

4. Children need clear, accurate, age appropriate information.
The information about sexuality, human development, and sexual health is presented to the children in positive, accurate, and developmentally appropriate ways. Every individual has the right to have his/her questions answered.

5. Open communication builds trust.
As parents and educators, we must be conscious of not only our words, but the "music"-our body language, tone of voice, and overall context-that we play with our words.

6. Sexuality is a gift.
Sexuality is a natural and healthy part of living and these curricula nurture the values of "Respect, Relationship, and Responsibility."

7. The goal is to raise sexually healthy children.
It is important to include the misuse/abuse of sexuality to enable children to make responsible sexual choices.

Resources and programs for parents: Parent Meeting, Parent Guide to Our Whole Lives: Grades K-1 and 4-6, Video: Raising Healthy Kids, "Becoming an Askable Parent" brochure, "Parent Choices" form, Parent/Child Orientation program, Our Whole Lives curriculum and resources, Parent Guide to Our Whole Lives. Grades K-1 and 4-6, "Parent Commitment" form, Parent Participation: Sessions One and Eight (K-1), Session One (4-6), Homelinks, children's journal (K-1), Glossary in Grades K-1 and Grades 4-6, K-1 parents with educators decide on the version of the conception story

Parents as Sexuality Educators Report

Formatted for the web by Kasey Melski.