Community Building Sessions™ are short, purposeful activities that help children feel calm, connected, and ready to learn by developing emotional intelligence skills.
With students sitting or standing in a circle, each session follows a simple structure:
While each component of Community Building Sessions™ varies from session to session (for example, teachers select a different greeting activity), the order of components remains the same. Community Building Sessions™ provide students with a safe, reliable structure to count on, making it an ideal program for student-led leadership.
An average Community Building Session™ lasts between eight and 15 minutes and can be extended if time permits. When time is limited, you can facilitate a modified session in just 5-10 minutes. You can also incorporate elements of a session during different times of the day. As you start incorporating session elements, one component could take 5-10 minutes.
Ideally, Community Building Sessions™ should be conducted daily. However, if implemented consistently once or twice a week, you can improve classroom culture and see positive developments in students’ emotional intelligence skills.
A teacher or educator is the primary facilitator of each Community Building Session™, ensuring the structure and expectations remain consistent and positive. However, as children become accustomed to the session structure, empowering them to lead different parts of the session, such as breathing exercises, is beneficial.
The name Community Building Sessions™ builds on three intentional elements:
