#LifeSkillsNow Mini-Series: Communication Basics
The Skill That Gets Your Kid Heard, Without the Whining
10 short workshops that teach kids how to ask, order, introduce, apologize, and speak up like they mean it.
Your Kid Has Plenty to Say. Saying It Well Is the Hard Part.
Your kid can talk your ear off at home and then go completely silent when the server at the restaurant asks what they’d like. Or the opposite: they know exactly what they want and the only tool they’ve got for getting it is volume.
Both of those are fixable, and neither one is a personality trait. Asking for something so the other person actually wants to say yes is a skill. So is walking up to a stranger, making an introduction, or saying sorry in a way that repairs a relationship instead of ending the conversation.
These ten video workshops teach those steps. Your kid watches, practices on you, and starts using them in real life.
All my kids have used this example this morning to get what they want, and it’s been so peaceful.
Stephanie M., on JoAnn Crohn’s How to Talk with Someone to Get What You Want
Why Communication Basics?
Most kids pick up communication by accident, copying whoever’s in the room. That works out fine sometimes.
These workshops make it deliberate instead. Each one takes a single everyday moment, breaks it into steps a kid can remember, and sends them off to practice it.
- Ten short videos (4 to 17 minutes) kids can watch on their own
- Seven different voices: a parenting educator with a master’s in education, an HR director of 18 years, a clinical psychologist, a certified parent coach, a homeschool podcaster, a Canadian mom who coaches self-advocacy, and your very own Katie Kimball, an elementary teacher and stress mastery educator
- Memorable methods with names and memory tools kids repeat back (GAME, NIC of Time, GROW, Six Steps to Speaking Up)
- One real-life mission at the end of every session, so the skill leaves the screen and goes into practice
- A one-time purchase with no subscription, and it’s yours to keep
Ordering on my own is very frightening but with these reassuring tips, it gave me a confidence boost!
Mikyla Rodriguez, a #LifeSkillsNow kid, on How to Order in a Restaurant
What Your Kid Will Be Able to Do
After this series, your kid can:
- Ask for something using a method that gets everyone to yes, instead of begging or arguing
- Order their own food at a restaurant, including what to say when the server asks a question they weren’t expecting
- Speak up to a cashier, a coach, or a doctor, using six steps they practiced before they needed them
- Advocate for themselves politely, and get listened to for it
- Introduce two people to each other and give them something to talk about after “this is my friend”
- Swap “you always” for “I felt,” and watch how much shorter the argument gets
- Take the actual first step toward a new friendship, and know what doesn’t work
- Apologize in a way that fixes the relationship instead of just ending the trouble
- Write and send a real email, and explain where it goes after they hit send
- Ask good questions of other people, then say what they need out loud
Every workshop ends with a mission. Most of them get practiced at your kitchen table within the hour.
What’s Included in the Communication Basics Mini-Series
Ten video workshops with printable handouts and a real-world mission for each one, pulled from different seasons of #LifeSkillsNow.
Access to a private, ad-free membership area with no distractions and no autoplay
Lifetime access so your kid can come back to the email workshop the year they need a real inbox
Downloadable videos for offline watching
#LifeSkillsNow Mini-Series: Communication Basics
The Skill That Gets Your Kid Heard, Without the Whining
- Downloadable Videos
- Printable Handouts for Note-Taking & Quick Reference
- Access Never Expires PLUS if anything is added, you get that too!
- 10 Communication Workshops for Ages 5+
- Private, Ad-Free Dashboard
- $10 per Workshop = $100 Value!
$30
Rest Easy with our Happiness Guarantee
You have time to decide what you love! Let your kid watch a few workshops, see if the restaurant order actually happens, and if you don’t love it let us know within 30 days of purchase and we’ll give you a full refund.
You have unlimited access to all the content, so even if your kid watches every workshop and you still ask for a refund, we’d give it to you because we believe in this collection so much. That’s our risk, but we trust you probably won’t do that. It’s just important to us that you understand how much care we’ve put into this.
When me and my family go out to eat I always have to order my own food and I always feel nervous when its my turn to order but now that I have watched this video I feel a lot more confident!!
Aleah, a #LifeSkillsNow kid, on How to Order in a Restaurant
Mini-Series Package, 10 Workshops
Workshops included in the Communication Basics #LifeSkillsNow Mini-Series:
How to Talk with Someone to Get What You Want
with JoAnn Crohn, ages 5+, 8 min
The founder of No Guilt Mom teaches the GAME method: say what you want, find out what the other person wants, and land on something you’re both fine with.
How to Order in a Restaurant with Courtesy and Confidence
with Katie Kimball, ages 5+, 8 min
Katie and her sons practice the whole thing on camera, from reading the menu ahead to handling a question you don’t know the answer to. (Mr. Kimball never had to order for himself as a kid and says he kind of wishes he had.)
Finding Your Voice: How to Speak Up in Public Places
with HR Mom Melissa Griffin, ages 5+, 17 min
Six Steps to Speaking Up for talking to cashiers, servers, doctors, and other adults your kid doesn’t know, including how to practice first and why mistakes are fine.
Self-Advocacy: How to be Heard and (Politely) Get What You Want
with Maria Weir of Stand Up, Reach Out, ages 8+, 9 min
A simple roadmap for kids who feel like nobody really listens when they ask for something.
Bringing People Together with Awesome Introductions
with Pam Barnhill, ages 8+, 7 min
The NIC of Time method for introducing two people and giving them a reason to keep talking, from the host of the Homeschool Better Together podcast.
Editing Your Voice: It’s Not About YOU, It’s About “I”
with Katie Kimball, ages 5+, 10 min
How to swap accusing “you” messages for “I” messages, so people feel included instead of blamed and the argument gets a lot shorter.
The First Step to Building a Friendship
with Dr. Melanie Wilson, ages 5+, 5 min
A clinical psychologist and mom of six on the one move that turns an acquaintance into a friend, plus what doesn’t work.
The Art of Apologizing Well
with Lisa Yvonne, ages 5+, 4 min
The GROW method, so “I’m sorry” means something instead of being the fastest way out of trouble.
Email 101: How to Write and Send an Email
with Katie Kimball, ages 5-12, 13 min
What every part of an email is for, how to write one, and where it actually goes after your kid presses send.
Owning Your Voice
with Katie Kimball, all ages, 6 min
Curiosity first, then your opinion, then what you need. Katie tells the story of her daughter Leah calmly telling a parent that a response had stung, and what changed after that.
Ten workshops. An hour and a half. A kid who can ask for what they want and be pleasant about it.
What does a workshop feel like?
1. Watch a Short Video
Each workshop runs 4 to 17 minutes. Your kid can watch two while you finish making dinner.
2. Optional: Print the Handout
Every workshop comes with a printable to follow along or stick on the fridge.
3. Try the Mission in Real Life
Each workshop ends with one specific thing to go do: practice a GAME conversation, role-play ordering with a sibling as the server, introduce two people at church on Sunday, send a real email to a grandparent.
With the Communication Basics Mini-Series, your kid learns to speak up from someone other than you. Which tends to work better, and you know it.
Got Questions? Here are Your Answers:
Your kid. All ten workshops are taught straight to kids. Plenty of parents told us they picked things up too (the introductions workshop in particular), but the videos don’t need you in the room.
Seven workshops are for ages 5 and up, two are for 8 and up. A 5-year-old and an 11-year-old can watch most of these together.
No, and it’s honestly built for that kid. The Speaking Up and restaurant workshops both start with practicing at home before anyone talks to a stranger. One camper told us the restaurant video helped her get over being afraid to order.
Between 4 and 17 minutes, about an hour and a half for the whole set.
In a private, ad-free membership area you can get to anytime. Videos are downloadable so you can even watch offline, and every workshop includes a printable and a mission.
Yes! It’s a one-time purchase with no subscription, and your access never expires. Your 6-year-old can come back to the email workshop at 11.
The #LifeSkillsNow Mini-Series are pulled straight from previous Seasons, so if you already own one or more, chances are you have some of these workshops already. These ten come from Seasons 1, 3, and 4.
Yes! Communication Basics is one of several. Read about all our #LifeSkillsNow Mini-Series right here.
No, our terms and conditions require you to use your #LifeSkillsNow Mini-Series login solely for personal use. You’re welcome to watch alongside your spouse or invite a friend over to watch with you at your house.
Still have questions? Our Happiness Coordinators are here for you. Start a conversation with the chat icon in the corner of your screen.