Participants learn about each other and bond as a result. They also learn about which life events are important to different people, and how events in your past or present can lead to changes in the future.
Before You Start
- Cut rolls of yarn or string (at least 2 different colours) into pieces – around a metre each for all the participants and the facilitator and a few spares. Or a piece of A3 paper per person can be used if you don’t have yarn/string
- 1 sheet of plain A4 paper per person, cut into 6 small pieces
- Scissors to share between 3
- Glue to share between 3
- A pencil per person
- Coloured pencils, pens or crayons (optional)
What To Do
Hold up a length of yarn or string. Explain to the children that this piece of string represents your life. Start at the beginning and say, “This when I was born.” Tell them a little about your birth. Then pass the string through your fingers, stop and say, “This is when I was x years old.” and recount an anecdote from the time you were their age. Carry on through your lifeline, recounting a few significant events until you reach the present. The present should be the end of your piece of yarn
Ask each of the children to hold up a piece of yarn, string, ribbon, or draw one. You can use an imaginary pieces of string if you don’t have physical pieces. Tell them that they are going to make a lifeline.
Ask them to remember a few significant events in their lives so far – special holidays, starting school, meeting their best friend, moving house etc
On small pieces of paper ask them to write or draw about these events and tie the pieces of writing or drawing onto the string chronologically or wherever they choose. If they don’t have any string, they can put them together on another piece of paper and draw their timeline connecting together the events
Get them to share their timelines, if they’re comfortable to do so – it’s fine if some children don’t want to discuss their timeline
Now have a short discussion about their timelines:
- Were there any things that people shared in their timelines?
- Is there anything in the past of their timeline that has had an effect on the present, or even the future? (eg starting school, going to Woodcraft, moving house etc.)
- Discuss how some past events seem important because they change the future.
If they made a group timeline what would they put on it? Where would it begin? You can hold this up as yarn or draw it out for the group
Are there any group events they would like to add? Camps? Woodcraft days? Are there any earlier events that the group can remember that directly linked to later events, eg practising songs on a group night leading to a concert or songs around the campfire?
Now tie a different coloured yarn, or draw in a different colour pen, onto the ‘now’ end of the group timeline and say that this represents the future of the group. Is there anything in the past of the group that might shape the future? Is there something the group would like to do more of, or do again?
What would they like to see on this future piece of timeline? As a group choose one or two future plans
Now ask them all to think of something that they could do in the present to help one of the future events happen. Ask them to draw or write down what they want to do and to stick it on the end of the timeline
Caution: Be alert to children revealing difficult events from their past and how to deal with that to support the child speaking and other children in the group. Ensure you know where to go for any Safeguarding support and have discussed in advance with the other leaders how you will respond to certain revelations, the more you’ve prepared the easier it will be to deal with issues without causing additional stress or upset to the children.