According to the mental health charity YoungMinds, it is currently estimated that five children in every classroom have a probable mental health problem in the UK. We are delighted therefore that we have seen an increase in bookings for our wellbeing workshops.
Our Friendships, Resilience and Wellbeing workshop, aimed at Key Stage 1 children, provides a fun and creative workshop. Led by Alice in Wonderland and with the use of performance, poetry and breathing exercises, the children embark on a journey that gently introduces some of the trickier issues they face as they move through school.
Children love role-playing many of the different characters Alice meets when she steps through the Looking Glass, such as The Red Queen and the Flowers. These characters help facilitate the children’s exploration of emotions and relationships. They do this in a safe, non-judgemental, and fun environment.
The use of a glitter jar is another example of how our actor helps the children to imagine our complicated minds. They explain that the jar is like our heads and the glitter inside, our thoughts and worries. As the jar is spun, the glitter swirls around quickly, in these moments it can be hard for us to think clearly, but if you stop and hold the jar still the glitter settles. Our actor explains that our worries are like this. If we think too much and panic, then our worries are going to make us anxious. But if we stop for a moment, things might become clearer. The children love this analogy, as do our actors!
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Our Year 6 Moving On workshop, aims to help year 6 students with the transition to Secondary School. Within the workshop we provide a ‘toolbox’ of resources that children can ‘dip into’ as they make the step from Primary to Secondary education.
A snapshot from our Year 6 Moving On Workshop
Much of this session is focused on the power of the ‘voice’ and how we can use it to build confidence. We do this through experiment, vocal exercises and games. We look at how body language can also help us feel more at ease. There is time for reflection, children are encouraged to think about their past school experiences and what they expect and want, from the future. At the end of the workshop the class create a performance, based on a poem about growth and the benefits change brings.
Both workshops are available to be delivered onsite or online via Microsoft Teams.
As the summer term draws to a close, we would like to thank all the schools The Drama Hut has had the pleasure of visiting, both online and onsite, and we very much look forward to the next academic year and delivering our exciting sessions all over the UK and beyond!
If you would like any information on our workshops, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
We hope you have a well-rested summer break!
