Plan, Plan, Plan

Planning for Group Work

            Growing up, I can remember acting in children’s plays, attending drama camp, and being apart of many extra curricular activities.  In all of these activities, the person in charge would guide us through fun games and ice breakers.  As a young person, I had no idea what an important role those seemingly meaningless games played in my development.  The skills and understanding I gained from simple games have given me the ability to work effectively with others. 

            Now, I am shedding the role of participant observer and moving onto the role of facilitator.  Yesterday and today, I have spent my time planning out my children’s group’s sessions.  After going through a pile of examples and literature, picking out and adjusting themes and activities.  As of right now, with little information on the identified children, I have planned for 10 sessions and one final event.  The purpose of the group is to present the identified children with the opportunity to gain and practice coping skills, self-motivation, and relationship building.

            I have planned the sessions around these 10 themes:

1.     Trust and Group Building

2.     Understanding Yourself and Others

3.     Team Work and Relationship Building

4.     Feelings and Stress Relief

5.     Expression Yourself

6.     Your Support System

7.     Self Esteem and Self Image

8.     Supporting Yourself and Others

9.     Your Future

10.  Presentation to Families and Community Members (EVENT!)

11.   Message in a Bottle & Evaluation

            Each session will follow a similar outline including a Check-In, Activity, Short Discussion, Theme Activity, Feed back, and Closing.  The outline will be adjusted according to age group and theme.  My goal is to have all 10 of my hand written outlines processed by tomorrow.  Until then, does anyone have any more suggestions?