A two-person acting team from CLIMB Theatre spent all day Monday in each Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary classroom talking to students about brain health.
“Brain health,” they said, is defined as “how the brain affects how we think, feel and act.”
They illustrated through skits how to see the difference between a healthy brain (smiling, happy body language) and a brain that’s suffering (slumped shoulders, sad expressions).
“If your friend had a broken leg, you wouldn’t tell them to ‘walk it off,’ would you?” actress Kirsten Erickson asked students.
“Of course you wouldn’t. You’d find a way to help.”
And she and Jon Haven acted out scenarios illustrating how to recognize a friend with struggling brain health and how to “empathize” and “advocate” for them.
The 22-year-old actors adjusted their vocabulary and skits to be age appropriate for each of the elementary grade levels.
But the message was the same for all ages: Our brains are no different from any other part of our body. If we have a stomachache, we get help from the school nurse or helpful adult. If we need help with our brain health, we go to the school counselor or helpful adult.
H-BC school counselor Jordyn Kooima said the classroom time was well spent.
“The response from students and teachers at H-BC has been overwhelmingly positive,” Kooima said.
“The CLIMB actors did a wonderful job of engaging students and helping them learn about an important topic that can be difficult to understand, especially at a young age.”
The Twin Cities-based CLIMB (Creative Learning Ideas for the Mind and Body) organization works in school districts statewide teaching life skills such as empathy, resiliency, advocacy and more.
Carson’s Cause funds CLIMB, directs brain health script
Last year writers and actors presented an entirely new script at the request of Carson’s Cause, which provided grant funding for the sessions.
The new skits focused on brain health as a component of physical health no different from a toothache or stomachache.
It was introduced in Luverne classrooms last fall, and this year both Luverne and H-BC students heard the message.
“Their message about brain health, advocacy and empathy was a great reminder for all of us, and it was fun for students to hear it in a new and exciting way,” Kooima said.
“Brain health is essential for students to be successful inside and outside of the classroom, and we look forward to continuing this conversation with our students and families.”
Lori Sorenson started Carson’s Cause in 2022 after her son, Carson Ehde, died at age 21 of suicide.
The non-profit works with elementary-age students to improve dialogue about brain health to reduce stigma and encourage people to seek treatment if needed.
Sorenson said the CLIMB program has been effective at delivering that message.
“The actors are so young, energetic and engaging for the elementary students,” she said.
“It’s so fun to watch them work their magic in the classrooms and see the important message hit home with students.”
In addition to CLIMB Theatre grant funding, Carson’s Cause works with school counselors to purchase age-appropriate children’s books to reinforce proper brain health dialogue.
Counselors read and interpret the books with students who then take them home to their families.
Sorenson said she’s heard from parents that the books have prompted helpful brain discussion in their homes.
“Our ultimate goal is to normalize brain health discussion to prevent suicide, and we’ll never know who we’ve helped,” she said.
“But hearing feedback like this gives me hope that we’re making a difference.”
In addition to Luverne and H-BC, Carson’s Cause is also working with Edgerton and Pipestone students this school year, with plans to expand into two more districts the following year.
CLIMB Theatre actress Kirsten Erickson and third-grader Nora Sheppard illustrate how body language can send a message about brain health.
