Leader Guidelines
Part of Chalice Children
As you adapt sessions to fit your resources and the needs of the group, take care to preserve the intent of a session and its purpose in the overall program.
Read each session at least several days before leading it. Get a feel for it, do a little extra research if your curiosity strikes, and follow your interests.
Preparing with co-leaders is very important. Set up the meeting room, ensure that the materials and equipment are available, and go over the session plan. Experience the Spiritual Preparation exercise together, or take a moment before children arrive to share briefly about your expectations for the session.
Share with co-leaders what you know about particular children's family situations and personal sensitivities as they are relevant to the day's topics. For example, if a child's family is facing homelessness and the story for the day centers on a UU community's actions to combat homelessness, the child may become distressed or extremely quiet, which may be noticed by children in the group. Communicating with the other leaders on your team can help all of you anticipate and prepare for awkward or painful situations such as this.