Abstract:

The paper presents the experience gained in the context of training initiatives for adults, aimed at enhancing relational skills through thematic insights into Life Skills.
The training course was designed and implemented over four thematic days and was held at the San Michele Kindergarten in Bellinzago Lombardo (east of Milan - Northern Italy) in collaboration with some professors of the MiRiDe and ASMeD workshops of the School of Architecture Urban Planning Construction Engineering of the Milan Polytechnic.

It is commonly thought that fairy tales are stories for children but for centuries they have been a tool for the entertainment and education of adults, presenting some fundamental points of human experience. Fairy tales bring out the deepest human experience, with all its mistakes and terrors, with its anxieties and fears, without worrying about building a perfect illusory universe around it. Considering an aspect or a fundamental character of a fairy tale, "experiential connections" were proposed to re-read everyday life and enhance some relational dynamics.

The paper is divided into six chapters:
Chapter one summarizes the meaning of the training proposal and the planning phase, considering the centrality of the laboratory experience as an educational place for adults.
Chapter two (Telling and telling oneself) introduces the theme of narration as a meeting place: experience of knowledge of others and of oneself.
Chapter three (Mirror of my desires) starting from the character of the Queen of the fairy tale of Snow White, develops the theme of looks in relationships. In particular, the themes of envy and trust allow us to initiate experiential focuses.
Chapter four (Birth and reborn) starting from the character of Little Red Riding Hood explores the dynamics of choices and decisions as places of human growth.
Chapter five (Living vulnerability) starting from the character of Geppetto in the fairy tale of Pinocchio, presents the theme of the changes and transformations that characterize human life. Particular attention is paid to the theme of fragility.
Chapter six summarizes the experience considering the feedback from the participants, outlining possible developments and topics for in-depth training.

For each chapter, the paper presents the laboratory activities proposed to the participants, highlighting their contents and training tools and a summary of the considerations that emerged in the moments of sharing that concluded the training days.

Keywords:

Soft skills, personal growth, anthropology of awareness, fairy tales.