Alert Program: Test Drive

This book and CD, with its appealing songs to support children’s self-regulation, is full of practical ideas and suggestions. Test Drive is the simplest way to introduce the Alert Program^® concepts to children in schools, homes, or therapy settings, even if the reader is unfamiliar with the Leader’s Guide or Take Five! books. Listen to a Test Drive song just once and everyone will be humming and tapping their toes to the catchy words and rhymes, perhaps not even knowing they are learning about self-regulation!

All will enjoy the ease with which children learn and remember the Alert Program^® concepts through these playful, yet educational song lines such as: “I do my best work and it’s a great place to be. My engine’s just right, nothing’s stopping me!”

The Test Drive book walks you through exactly how to introduce the Alert Program^® engine analogy and vocabulary to a group of students at school or to an individual at home. You can’t go wrong with the straight forward instructions given in the book and the following songs that outline the basic Alert Program^® concepts:

• The Just Right Song is the main song that teaches students the engine analogy and sample ways to change how alert they feel.
• The Best Work song, with its bluesy swing, peaks students’ interest in learning how easy it is to focus and pay attention when engines are in a just right level of alertness.
• The song Five Ways expands students’ awareness of how to change their engine levels and how to choose from a larger variety of engine strategies.
• The Engine Song reinforces not only the engine vocabulary and strategies but adds a self-monitoring, social-emotional dimension. With phrases such as, “make a good decision, yes I can!” the song reminds children they can make good engine choices.
• The Alive, Awake, Alert song offers an ideal movement break for children’s engines at school, at home, or in therapy settings.
• And the Transition Songs are instrumental recordings of selected Test Drive songs that can be used to support engines in times of transition. They are intended to be played as students change activities or focus, perhaps as they finish silent reading and prepare for their math lesson.

We are confident that Test Drive will soon become one of your favorite ways to introduce the Alert Program^® to your students, but we have to warn you: you may find yourself singing the songs throughout the day and you can’t get them out of your head. And that’s just what we hope will happen for your students. Your students may find themselves singing (and learning) a song line such as, “Five ways, we’ve got five ways to maximize your days” Mouth, move, touch, look, listen and find your way!”