Today I will discuss the technique I've found that works really well with my littlest girls, empowering them to plan their own events while giving me some control of the situation so we don't end up with girls planning a bridging ceremony complete with ponies, ice cream and helicopter rides lol!
When my Daisies plan an event, we break it down into 3 parts - beginning, middle, and end. This is a pretty easy process for the youngest girls to understand. We use meeting time to plan events, and I come prepared.
Most recently, we planned out bridging ceremony. I use foam sheets for our planning - just because they are fun. You could use anything from regular paper to a tablet - just as long as the girls can visually appreciate it. The process will go smoother if they can SEE what they are planning.
I start with 3 pieces of foam sheets, and they look like this:
Once I get the three basic parts on their own foam sheet, I break down those parts individually. I like to piece out 2 or 3 parts that can be specifically planned out for each portion of the event. I also add a space for notes on the bottom - historically, I've learned my little ladies often have many *tips* or advice for me regarding the events we plan.
In terms of breaking down each portion, the example I am using in this post is our upcoming bridging ceremony. The beginning section of this event planning was broken down into 3 parts - opening, Emcee, and short speech. Since I have Daisy's, my girls are all 5 years old to 7 years old. Some of them are great at coming up with options, or choices, and some struggle. Because of this, I generally put two or three choices, and then introduce them as a choice to the girls. We discuss each one, and the implications, and then the girls take a vote on which they prefer.
Since the outline is already set up, its fairly easy to just highlight, circle or underline the choices the girls make. I also open the dialogue up to any notes or suggestions the girls have - they are usually pretty entertaining, as well as helpful! The photo to the left is a great example of the finished product.
In the end, you have a three page outline that is simply written, and easy to understand for your event. I generally make foam sheets in the same manner for other items that need planning as well - for instance, our bridging ceremony will be a potluck style picnic, so we have a sheet for sides/appetizers, and main dishes as well in a similar style.
As the girls age, I imagine this will evolve to them handling all of the details, but at this point in time, this is a really effective, and simple way to plan their events thus far.
We had a great time with this - not many things cuter than 5 and 6 year olds planning a bridging ceremony! Tell me how your event planning went!
