The direction I received in my pre-zoom consultation session with Chris Germer was to not worry too much about staying in order. I thought a lot about teaching with the book in front of me and quickly thinking it would get confusing jumping around. I decided to use colored 4″ x 7″ cards. Each color representing (a) meditation (b) didactic information (c) poetry (d) an exercise and (e) home practice. So prior to this first session, I made a photo-copy of each of these activities eliminating background information from the book and taped that to the card. Then as I prepped for the session, I pulled out each card, reviewed the content and practiced glancing from the card. This all fit into a small file so when I was done with the session, I would check the cards I had completed and those that I did not, to be used at the next session.
The class consisted of six girls: MK (who left after session 3), To (age 12), Ka (12 -13), Ca (14-16), AN (14-16), Ja (14-16). AFter MK left, Ta started in session 5. Being a new girl with an active mouth, she spend several sessions in a lock down situation. I just received their names the day before our first session. Nothing but their names was provied.
Set Up: I arrived two hours ahead of our start time. The head of staff, Kr, would meet me at security and escort me in the building. We were occupying a large room for the first two sessions and then move on to a smaller room. The facility is spotless and everything is modern. We would move the tables away and set up chairs in a circle. We had twelve chairs. Kr always had good advice and she said it worked best if the girls alternated with a staff member.
I used an old centerpiece with a rug and electric candle.