24 • PART TWO: FACILITATOR’S GUIDE
staff from these groups as well. In addition, Life
Skills Education Program planning must include:- Time;
- Location;
- Duration;
- Children – which, how many, age, sex;
- Referral resources; and
- Our own capacities.
Since children are mobile, it may be difficult to
answer these planning questions, and
organizations must meet specific targets. The
temptation may be to conduct as many life skills
sessions as possible with more children in the
shortest time. But remember, it is far more
important for children to learn a few relevant
skills and learn them well. Besides, it is not easy
for children to learn new behavior (some learning
requires ‘unlearning’ as well). Each child has his or
her own pace of learning and practicing new skills,
so they cannot be rushed!
The activities in the module sessions are organized
in a logical sequence. The activities at the
beginning of the session are introductory, and the
ones towards the end expect the children to
explore more complex issues. However, the
activities may be organized in any order and in a
framework that reflects the needs of the children
and systematically develops skills. Children’s need
will change over time, and planning frameworks
can be flexible. The toolkit helps to form ideas and
to tailor-make activities according to the children’s
needs. It is a good idea to plan in a way to easily
evaluate outcomes.
The facilitator must prepare for each session by
reading the appropriate information sheets,
introduction to the session, objectives and key
points. Next, the facilitator must review each step
of the activity, so that it can be easily
implemented. Colleagues can help in this process.
This is a good opportunity to discuss session
adaptations or additional staff support. The time
required for the activities is only an estimate.
Different groups may require varying time; plans
need to build in this flexibility.
The “Linking Learning with Life” activities
provide continuity and an opportunity to
practice between sessions. They are an integral
and critical component in life skills activities and
must be included in the training sessions. Each
new session must begin with feedback from the
children regarding what has happened since the
last training session. In the toolkit these are
known as “Group Check Ins.”
Sessions must always be adapted to the children’s
needs. The Group Check Ins and “Linking
Learning to Life” activities provide valuable
information to the facilitator about how to adapt
ongoing sessions if required. The age of the
children, their developmental levels, the
knowledge required at each age and their
changing life experiences, all determine what is
included in the sessions.
Learning skills and changing behavior is a time
consuming process and miracles are not achieved
overnight. Practitioners and implementers need to
be patient!