I’ve been working on a planning template for my own sessions and for participants on my courses. I’m enjoying it as a way to think through my sessions whilst taking a lead from the children and young people.
I call my starting points ‘springboards’. I’ve written about springboards before. That previous post was from 2010! 
Feel free to download this template and let me know if you use it.
I have completed the evaluation template to capture reflections and observations and the two documents work well printed back to back.
Thinking of the addition lily of thinking where this might go…does it mean facilitators think more about a variety of resourcing and what the space and season offers that may support and give more choice..so an addition may be season and life present on site. Take this week with my tuesday group who love tracking games and cake making. Out of both experiences came hibernation and finding the smallest newt hunkering down…we were making carrot cake and the colour of said newt was bright orange which led in turn to autumn leaf colour play…one of those joyous flowing afternoons where following both the needs of the group, the ‘activity’ and the site felt like a seamless moment. So my thought is does anticipating this on a planning sheet pre empt such experieces, make us more alert to the possibilities or interrupt that seamless spontaneity we all felt on tuesday? Discuss…
This is a very interesting question Jon. Does thinking about it make us more aware of the opportunities when they present themselves, which allows the seamlessness occur? So maybe it’s not either or but both. To be alive to the potential is to be ready for when it can be realised.
Yes…probably both…i guess we need to be aware of the possibilities but not overplan for them. It did make me think that years of experiencing, observing and facilitation helps so probably a useful planning extra for fresh faces…however i do still revel in the spontaneity and in the momentness children, in particular, give the world and that is what we should all be open for as fs practitioners.