Period Education Workshop: About Ella's World

For all those who don't know you yet: Can you briefly explain what Ella's World is?

Ella's World is a workshop that enables teachers to educate girls* aged 9-14 about periods. The whole thing takes place within the framework of a story and playful activities. In a positive and safe atmosphere, the girls* are given a good feeling about dealing with their periods. The workshop is designed to encourage questions and can be carried out in a double lesson without special expertise. Teachers and educators throughout Germany have free access to the instructions for Ella's World and are empowered to implement the educational workshops themselves.

*We would like to point out that not all people who menstruate are girls and not all girls menstruate. In Ella's World, we mainly use binary language to convey information clearly and understandably in primary school contexts, but we also encourage all teachers to promote inclusive language, for example by referring to menstruating people, with a soon-to-be-published extra booklet.

Why does Ella's World exist?

The topic of menstruation is still heavily laden with taboos and stigmas in Germany. Period education in schools – if it takes place at all – usually occurs within the framework of sex education. In the process, important topics are naturally overlooked or questions remain unanswered because the framework does not encourage asking them or expressing worries and fears. A survey we conducted with Plan International showed that teachers also want new, modern materials to educate about periods. And this is exactly where Ella's World comes in.

How should we imagine this? How does an Ella's World educational workshop work?

We like to call the workshop an entertaining journey of discovery. It is designed to be group-based, creating closeness between the girls* and a positive environment. Over 90 minutes, the children follow the story of Ella and her friends. In doing so, they are introduced to puberty, menstruation, and the cycle. In addition to imparting knowledge, we are particularly concerned with fostering a sense of community and conveying to the girls: "Periods are completely normal and natural. Don't worry, you've got this!"

The first period: Perception, reactions, fears

What reactions did students have after participating in the workshop?

The girls* ask each other very open questions in the workshop. They are very supportive of each other. To also include those who are more reserved, the "anonymous question box" is part of the workshop. Here, questions are collected anonymously and answered in the group. This encourages the children and prepares them well for their first menstruation. How important this is is shown particularly by reactions such as sudden anticipation of their period.

Because blood is involved with periods, menstruation is initially perceived by many girls* as something bad or even like an illness. Fortunately, this association is taken away from them. Many of the participants are even proud to get their period at the end.

What tips do you give educators, teachers, and parents to prepare girls* for their first period?

As the publishers of Ella's World, we primarily provide educators and teachers with the guide for the educational workshop. We see our role as providing a modern format with the most important content that can be implemented simply and easily by everyone. We want to make it as easy as possible for teachers to approach the topic. Concrete tips for implementing the workshop or dealing with sensitive topics can be found in abundance in the guide.

What misconceptions and associations always need to be corrected?

It is mainly the negative associations with blood during menstruation that teachers repeatedly encounter. The workshop naturally dispels the stigma and fear that periods are something bad.

Period Education in Transition

Have you observed that attitudes towards menstruation have changed in recent years, and if so, how?

Periods are definitely discussed more and with less shame, especially in public spaces. Numerous activists, companies, an increasing number of schools, educational institutions, and campaigns like Menstrual Hygiene Day contribute to this.

Menstrual Hygiene Day aims to clear away stigmas and is now the world's largest campaign for periods: the mere fact that last year there were almost 18,000 media articles and over 220,000 social media posts about it shows that the way menstruation is handled is slowly but surely changing for the better.

Ella's World helps to promote the view of periods as a completely normal and even healthy bodily function, thus normalizing conversations in private spaces between friends and families.

What challenges do you see for menstrual education in the future and how do you plan to address them?

The biggest challenge for period education is that it is not explicitly anchored as a standard item in the curriculum. As a result, no space is created in which all girls* feel confident to ask their questions. However, as soon as this space is created, we observe a lot of empowerment and mutual support among the girls*.

In the future, it will be important for us to increasingly involve different environments in period education. For example, boys and children with learning difficulties must also have access to educational offerings that are fun and contribute to destigmatization. There is currently a lack of such offerings. In the coming months, we want to address these challenges and create both an educational offering for boys and one in plain language.

What role do social media play in period education?

Social media can help with destigmatization and enable people to talk about periods empowered and without shame in the digital space. In terms of education, however, with Ella's World, we deliberately rely on an offline solution that takes place in groups and aims to prevent young girls from obtaining unfiltered information about social media on their own. Learning outcomes and engagement for a topic demonstrably increase when it has been acquired in a group.

What role do teachers and schools play in creating an inclusive environment for menstrual education?

Schools play an underestimated role in the socialization of students. Here, friendships are formed, interests are discovered, and new things are learned. Teachers are direct contact persons and sometimes even act as role models. They also influence what is discussed and in what way. This is a rather responsible job. To support this and, for example, to convey an inclusive understanding of periods, we have developed an extra booklet. Here, for example, questions about gender identity are addressed, and it is explained that not all girls menstruate and not all menstruating people are girls.

Thank you, Jamie and Ella's World!

Are you a teacher, parent, family member, friend or acquaintance and are you also looking for support? Then feel free to contact Ella's World - Period education that's fun.