An introductory lesson for children to get to know the program their families have joined.
Group Meeting:
Have name tags ready for kids to write their names on and wear. Be sure you wear one as well.
Gather the group in your meeting area and have them take a seat.
Introduce yourself to the children.
Have each child introduce themselves and state how old they are.
Thank the children for introducing themselves, and direct the discussion forward by asking, “Does anyone know why their family is here tonight?”
Allow for answers from children. Examples may be “We’re here to learn”, “We’re here to help our family”, or frankly, “I don’t know.”
Express to the group, “I think your families are doing an extremely admirable thing. This is RISE programming, and while we get to hang out and learn together, your parents are learning valuable life skills to help your family find even more success! What’s cool about RISE is that while they’re learning certain topics, like leadership or setting goals, we get to learn the same stuff but in our own fun way. Today, we’re going to focus on learning about RISE and getting to know each other, but before we jump into games and activities let’s lay out some ground rules.”
The good news is that there are only three ground rules in RISE Kids, but they cover a lot. Using either butcher paper or a whiteboard, write out the following and discuss each point:
“Respect Yourself”: If you don’t respect yourself, it’s pretty hard to have respect for anything else. Take yourself, your opinions, and your thoughts seriously. This way, it’ll be easier to participate in what we’re doing.
“Respect Others”: This includes the adult instructor and everyone in the group. Respect the time of the instructor who is trying to teach you, and respect other people’s opinions even if they’re different from yours.
“Respect Your Environment”: RISE and RISE Kids programming can take place in a variety of environments. You may have a large classroom and playground to utilize, or only a small room. Regardless of what your space looks like, it needs to be respected and taken care of. This could mean using toys, objects, or materials appropriately—or just keeping the room tidy and safe.
If there is difficulty following these rules, set an order of consequences: such as a verbal warning, taking a break, or contacting a parent or guardian.
After explaining and discussing the rules, move on to the activity.
Summary of Tasks/Activity:
Sweet to Meet You
Depending on the group size, have the kids split up into teams of three to five.
Give each group a small paper plate with Jolly Ranchers on them (with at least enough candy for each child to have two) and the Jolly Rancher handout.
Ask the kids to each pick two different colored candies.
Depending on what color of candy they pick out, have each kid answer the following questions to one another:
Red: What’s something that’s really important to you?
Orange: What’s something you’re good at?
Yellow: What’s something that makes you happy?
Green: What’s one of your favorite hobbies?
Purple: What’s something new you’d like to learn?
Have each kid answer a question one at a time, and then move on to the next kid. There should only be two rounds.
