1. GOALS AND AGREEMENT
OUTCOMES
- Understand and name the goals of the Life Skills programme.
- Understand and name the team agreements.
- Understand the importance of goals and agreements.
MATERIALS
- Chart paper with Goals and Agreements written on them
- Sketch Pens
CHECK-IN: How do you feel right now about this new programme?
INSTRUCTIONS
GOALS
Show the chart paper you have created ( don’t forget to decorate it a little! Make it attractive and fun ) with the following goals:
Go through each goal with the group. Show lots of curiosity and positivity while you explain the goals of the programme:
BE KIND TO ALL
Sometimes we meet people who are very different from us. They may look differently, speak differently or have different ideas. To be kind to all means to accept someone just as they are without judging them and trying our best to support them. How will we know if we are being kind to all? (Answer: If all feel welcome and happy)
SHARE
You all know how important it is to share our things and make sure everyone has equally what they need. But what does it mean to share ourselves? It means that we are open hearted, we share our smiles, our stories and even our struggles. This group will be a place where you are welcome to share yourself and whatever is important to you. We will all be listening ears for each other.
JUST TRY IT
If you want to learn something, anything, what is the first thing you should do? Just TRY it! So here in this group we will encourage you to try new things very often, so you can discover what you enjoy and care about. Sometimes trying new things can be difficult. We might be scared and hear a voice that says, you can’t do it. Do you ever hear that voice? Sometimes it says, everyone will laugh at you, or you are too stupid for this. Everyone hears that voice some days. That is the voice that stops us from trying new things. Everyone please raise one hand high in the air, now reach into the back of your head, like this. Now pluck out that voice! Together, we will throw it out the window! Okay, one, two, three throw! Now those voices will be outside. If you hear it, remember to throw it outside with the rest of the voices.
TO HAVE FUN
This is the most important goal! You should have lots of fun in this group. It’s a place for you to enjoy yourself, learn new things and make friends. Now, to achieve these goals together, we are going to need to agree on how we will work together as a group. I have a few suggestions that have worked for different Life skills programme groups in the past, and then I’m going to ask you what you need for us to achieve these goals together.
AGREEMENTS
Explain each one, using questions and giving examples
- NO PUTTING DOWN OF SELF OR OTHER
- PARTICIPATE FULLY
- BE WILLING TO TRY NEW THINGS
- LISTEN WELL
NO PUTTING DOWN OF SELF OR OTHER
What does ‘put down’ mean?
We are going to help each other remember this agreement by gently reminding people who accidentally use put downs.
- It can be a hard habit to break, since we hear a lot of put downs in our lives.
- The other part of this agreement is not putting ourselves down. That can sometimes be even harder.
- What are some put downs of yourself that you might notice? (I’m too stupid, I can’t do this...) Okay, now everyone put one hand in the air and reach back behind your head (show them).
PARTICIPATE FULLY
Does this mean that you must be talking all the time? It just means being as present as you can be at any time. It’s okay to say no and it’s great to take care of you. What are some ways you can participate fully even when you don’t want to be in the activity? (By being present, listening, witnessing and letting others know what’s going on with you).
BE WILLING TO TRY NEW THINGS
Why is it important to try new things? (So, we can learn, so we can know what we like and what we don’t like, to gain courage, etc.)
LISTEN WELL
- How do you know you are listening well? Take all their answers.
- Then say, you are listening well when the other person feels heard.
- How do you know when someone feels heard? List the behaviours that they might see.
REFLECTION
Have a conversation with the group about what they might do if the agreements are broken. Steer them away from any punishments and towards ways of working together, supporting each other and taking responsibility for themselves and each other.
CHECK OUT: One thing you have learnt from this session.
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