1. To review what the children have learned through the group
2. To communicate to their parents what they have learned and how
they feel about their
families
3. To help the children leave the group with positive feelings about
themselves
4. To assess the effectiveness of this intervention in changing the
children's views of
blended families.
Materials:
* Construction paper, scissors, and crayons or markers
* White paper and pencils
* "Ideas about Blended Families" worksheet
Activity 1: Review
The counselor and the students should review the main ideas that they have discussed in the previous sessions and what they have learned. Using the "Ideas about Blended Families" worksheet, talk about how some of their ideas and feelings may be different from before the group began. Go around the circle and give each child the opportunity to discuss at least two things that changed the most.
Activity 2: Dear Mom or Dad
This activity will allow the children to express to their parent(s) their experience in the group and the feelings they have about their family.
Procedure:
1. Ask every student to sit down in a desk
2. Distribute a piece of white paper and a pencil to each child
3. Ask each child to write a letter to one or both of their parents and tell them how they are feeling about the divorce, write about any particular problem or issue they are dealing with and what they have learned in this group.
4. When giving instructions let them know that this letter will not be shared with the rest of the group, but if there is anything they need help with they can come to you.
5. Give them around 25 minutes to finish this activity. If they do not finish on time, they can continue the letter later.
6. An alternative is to
address the letter to any member of the family with which the child is
having conflict.
Activity 3: Strength Bombardment
It is always good to end on a positive note. By using the Strength Bombardment (Myrick, 2002) activity the children have a chance to hear compliments from their peers in the group. Have one child sit in the middle of the group while the other group members sit in a circle around him or her. The group members describe the individual using words or statements that say what they like about the person. The group can go around the circle several times for each student over a period of about one to two minutes. Each child should have a chance to be in the center of the circle.
Processing Hints
According to Myrick (1997), it recommended that the group does not discuss any new material in the final session. If the counselor senses that additional sessions are needed, a new contract can be made.
To evaluate the effectiveness of the group, the counselor should compare the answers of the "Ideas about Blended Families" worksheet used in the first session with the one used in the last session. This can help the counselor see how ideas have changed after discussing them in the group, especially those ideas that produce unpleasant feelings.