Feeling overwhelmed and stressed and looking for words of encouragement? Help is just a phone call away.
Elementary school children in California have set up a pep talk line to lighten the mood. Their cheerful project is now a book called ‘You Are Amazing Like a Rocket’.
Call 707-8PEPTOC (707-873-7862) to hear the kindergarten through 6th grade students at West Side Elementary in Healdsburg, California, give advice on how to deal with anger, frustration, anxiety, or just a mood boost. Here are a few options callers can consider:
If you feel angry, frustrated or nervous, press 1.
If you need words of encouragement and life advice, press two.
To hear how amazing you look, press six. The students’ suggestions could warm even the coldest heart.
Rainbows are jealous of you.
You look better than a star in the sky.
When you’re feeling angry, grab your wallet and spend it on ice cream and juice.
If you’re sad or angry, go get a cookie, a smoothie, or some ice cream!
Ma’am, you are doing well!
As art teacher Jessica Martin thought about how to foster empathy and compassion in students, she wondered if it would help to ask them to create encouraging messages for a hotline. That gave her the idea for Peptoc.
“We said, ‘This is what’s on everyone’s mind. This is where social-emotional learning is at the heart of what’s happening as kids go back to school and find a new normal,” she told TODAY Parent. “When I work with kids, I’m constantly amazed at their wisdom and their coping strategies and how they support each other and their parents. They’re incredibly powerful. We wanted to create a project that celebrated that.”
Martin and her colleague Asherah Weiss gave the students an assignment to think of nice things they could say to boost someone’s mood.
“We said, ‘Imagine someone is struggling and what’s something you can do or say to them that would lift their spirits and make them feel better,'” Martin recalls. “Most of them immediately shot their hands up because this is something that’s been on their minds.”
Weiss helped the children create motivational posters to hang around town, while Martin worked with them to record their messages. Although Martin put certain messages in the different categories on the hotline, she did not edit any of the children’s messages.
“There was no prompting, no script, nothing,” Martin said. “It all just came from them, in their personal experience.”
While Martin thought Peptoc would be well-received in the community, she had no idea how popular it would be globally. After it launched in the spring of 2022, it went viral. In November, the week before the 2022 midterm elections, someone tweeted the number, and within 12 hours the hotline received 1,623,000 calls.
Martin and Weiss captured the project for eternity in a book published in August 2024. “You Are Amazing Like a Rocket: Pep Talks for Everyone From Young People Around the World” highlights the children’s artwork and heartwarming messages.
The students have accepted their viral fame with ease.
“I can’t even imagine it. But I think the kids were really excited about all the camera crews coming in and being interviewed,” Martin said. “I also think part of them was like, ‘Yeah, it’s time you listened to (kids).'”
Martin hopes that this experience will not only stimulate her students’ emotional learning, but also help them realize that even small gestures can create change.
“I really think these kids will remember this their whole lives into adulthood and they’ll carry this with them: making change is easy and it’s possible,” she said. “The idea is to start small and identify a community that you’re a part of and contribute to that community and then kindness goes out and multiplies exponentially.”
As the helpline grew in popularity, Martin wondered why pep talks from children seemed to be so effective for adults.
“It’s a beautiful and powerful experience to hear children give you advice and encouragement and remind you that you were a child yourself and that encouragement is still within us,” she said.
Martin has been approached by schools all over the world with the wish to copy the motivational posters.
“They put up posters in their own language and put them up in their community,” Martin said. “They send us images of these posters and we work with a book agent to publish a book based on this project.”
This experience has changed many of the students who attended Peptoc.
“I’ve noticed a huge increase in confidence, and they understand that their words are powerful — and what a gift for a young child to understand that,” Martin said. “I see them helping each other.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
