• Changing from weekly to daily sessions had interesting results.

• The group became quickly involved and enjoyed the daily sessions.

• Changing what you do and how you do it can make life interesting.

Recently I experienced a different group session format.

For many years we have scheduled one session a week.

Instead of weekly sessions, we conducted one a day

Daily sessions were new to me.

At a local library branch we held five two hour sessions from Monday to Friday.

We had between 15 and 22 young people from 9 to 15 years of age attend the sessions.

Compared to weekly sessions the interest and involvement increased.

ONE WEEK – FIVE SESSIONS:

MONDAY:

• This was an introductory session.

• We covered the various roles available.

• We also completed a speech writing exercise.

• We then presented the resulting speech.

• This exercise took about 15 to 20 minutes.

• This showed it is not a challenge to compile and present a speech.

TUESDAY:

• The participants ran the meeting and performed their various chosen roles.

• We had one participant present a speech.

• The topic was about how many hours (+40) it took her to prepare a speech for a French speech competition.

• Her message was that she could have spent that time on a much more productive task.

WEDNESDAY:

• We had two speeches.

THURSDAY:

• There were three speeches presented.

FRIDAY:

• There were five speeches presented.

• The topics varied from racial prejudice, to types of eggs and telling lies.

• The last speech given was by the same presenter who spoke on Tuesday about taking so long to prepare her speech.

• This time she stated it took her 20 minutes to prepare this speech.

• It was well received by all the attendees.

• It was humorous and everyone seemed to relate.

COMMENTS:

It was wonderful to see the progress and involvement of the participants.

My previous experiences have been with sessions one day a week.

This was an eye opener to see what can be accomplished in daily sessions in a week.

Next month at another library branch we have another one week long session scheduled.

I am looking forward to experiencing another one week program.

LESSONS LEARNED:

• This recent experience shows us that different approaches can be productive.

• We can try a variety of options.

• We can offer a variety of programs and sessions.

• Changing what you do and how you do it makes life interesting.

What are your thoughts about how to add variety to group sessions?

Please make your comments and suggestions in the comments section below.

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Every child deserves a wonderful future.

Fred Jones

Victoria, BC Canada

Fred Jones