Kid Talk Flipbook For Review 05.10

Kid Talk Leader’s Guide – Week 3
Check-In with Pop-Up-Pirate or Jack-in-the-Box: poke a sword in the barrel or
crank three times, pass it on. When it goes off, that child shares from their griefwork
about the funeral or about how their loved one died. (OS pp. 16 and 17. For variety, let
that child choose the child who will share.)
My Experience with Death: OS p. 15. This is a difficult page and may be emotionally
loaded. Mister Rogers said making difficult matters mentionable is the best way to make
them manageable. So, here we are together to talk about difficult matters. We ask that
it be done as take-home griefwork so the child can process it with a close adult. Hopefully,
the child has been told the truth about the death.
About the Death: OS p. 16. This is a difficult page and may also be very emotionally
loaded. We ask it be done as take-home griefwork so the child can process it with a close
adult. Children can handle anything so long as it is the truth and they are supported in
love. We encourage truth telling about the death because children are very intuitive and
have listening ears. Not telling them the truth may create significant trust issues and close
the door to communication in the teen years. We want home to be a place where we can
safely talk about anything, because “we are in this together.” This is the essence of the
weekly memo/email for Week 3.
Funeral or Memorial Service: OS p. 17. A child may not know dates, and locations.
Therefore, it is sent home as take-home griefwork so an adult can help. In later years
when grief will inevitably be recycling, this information may be helpful. It can help bring
back memories and feelings that need to be worked through with more maturity.
Flannel Board: the children love creating a picture of their decedent’s funeral or
memorial service, or of a service they wish they had attended. At this point in time,
creating a flannel board is at the facilitator’s discretion. A flannel board and cut-out kits
can be purchased or DIY instructions found on the internet. At some point in the future,
we will publish the abstract patterns we use. This is an invaluable activity for a group or
individual work with a grieving child.
Butterfly Coloring Pages: see Kid Talk Supply Pantry p. 138.
Votive Battery Candles: each child receives a small votive battery candle, a small
doily, and a square of colored construction paper of their choice. Purchased pre-cut
neon colored shapes work also. Print the “We Will Light Candles” poem on Avery 5395
adhesive name labels. The poem can be stuck to the bottom side of the construction
paper square.
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