Iowa State University Extension

• Program could be eight sessions - one a week
• Program could be eight sessions - two a week on consecutive nights, completed in a month
• Program could be four sessions - two a week on consecutive nights, followed up to two months later with the other four sessions.  Biweekly reinforcement in the form of letters and support materials maintains contact during the break.
• Each session is stand alone

Timing

• Optimal time is 90 minutes in length. This includes warm-up activity (15 minutes), adult session and youth session (60 minutes), and closing activity (15 minutes). It is important to keep to this schedule due to attention span and the length of the day for young children. The 90 minute session does not include free play time, a meal, or refreshments.
• Early starting and ending times are important due to ages of children.
• For some children, it will be helpful to have time at the beginning of the evening for free play time. For example, 15 minutes of basketball with facilitators and some parents helps to establish relationships as well as work off excess energy. This also can be helpful in getting men actively involved. 

Facilitators

• Potential partners include:  Cooperative Extension, school counselors, teachers, family resource center staff, or volunteers with appropriate backgrounds.
• Any facilitator, including extension staff, must accept the “love and limits” parenting concept and be able to present the curriculum as written.
• Facilitators need to be comfortable and flexible working with children of this age. They must be able to adjust the program to meet the needs of a particular class.
• The size of the classes will depend upon the availability of facilitators. The desired ratio is five to six families to one adult and one youth facilitator. Two youth facilitators are preferable in order to keep the pace and activities moving.

Recruitment

• Successful recruitment takes time 
• One-to-one contact is the most effective means of recruitment
• Parents can be encouraged to help recruit
• Schedule should be coordinated with community/school activities that may involve families

Curriculum 

• Icebreakers set the stage and closing family activities wrap up the classes
• Sessions stand on their own
• If the order of sessions is changed, adjust homework review accordingly
• The concept of “love and limits” underlies the eight sessions.  Specifically, sessions one, two, three, five, and eight focus on love.  Guidance and discipline issues are addressed in session four and are an underlying concept in sessions three, six, and seven.

Evaluation Form

• The evaluation form is used at session 8 and asks adult participants to compare preclass and postclass knowledge and behavior
• If fewer than 8 sessions are used, adapt the evaluation form to use only the items that reflect skills for the particular sessions taught.  The adult alternate evaluation form, found in the teaching manual, indicates which items go with each session.