A fun "Gullak Decorating Contest" to help the girls understand how they can save the money they are gifted on festivals like Teej and also, help them develop skills like creative thinking, goal setting and working in a team. Click here for more photos.

Sakshi conducted Life Skills Workshops on the "Importance of Saving" for Class VI girls at its education centres. The goal was to inculcate the habit of saving from an early age in the girls. Apropos Sakshi's Joyful Learning method of teaching, the workshop comprised teaching-through-stories, fun contests and interactive question-and-answer based discussions. Teaching through interactive activities not only helps children imbibe the lesson better but also inculcates important skills like creative thinking, goal setting and building positive relationships. 

Story-Telling and Discussion on "Importance of Saving"

To start with, the teachers told the children stories from their life experience. Example, one teacher told them about her family cat who did not eat all the pieces of fish she was given but saved some for the future. Then the teachers asked the children questions based on the stories - example, why did the cat save some fish for the future and as a follow-up, what do we save and why. This started the children thinking about saving and how it is useful and they gave answers like - we save money for marriage, or studies, or to pay rent, or for medicines when we are sick, or to save for our old age. In this way, they learnt from each other that there are many important reasons to save. 

"Gullak Decoration Contest" to introduce a "Way to Save"

This was a fun way to introduce a basic way to save (the gullak i.e. piggy bank) to the girls. The girls were divided into groups and each group was given a gullak and arts and crafts items like charts, coloured papers, glitter, beads, fevicol etc. After each group had decorated its gullak, they were given chits to vote on the best 3 gullaks. Then the girls were asked about their experience decorating gullaks, what was their goal when they set about decorating their gullak and what criteria they had used to vote. This helped them think about and understand how to set goals and how to think creatively.  

Brainstorming on "Methods of Saving"

Then Sakshi teachers conducted a brainstorming discussion session with the girls - asking them what occasions they receive money on (answers included eid, teej, when we get good marks), what they do with this money (answers included - give to my mother, buy clothes and jewellery, spend on studies) and how they save (answers included - give to my mother, gullak). The teachers told them about other ways they can save money like bank deposits and LIC schemes.

Refreshments and Wrap-Up