Winter of Wellbeing - Sessions supporting children aged between two and eight years in Swansea.

We are a week away from the two year anniversary of the world as we knew it being turned upside down. Little did we know that two years ago we would soon need to completely change the way we live and interact. As adults, this was hard enough but for children the Covid pandemic, with its repeated lockdowns, homeschooling, virtual learning and being away from friends and family has been really really tough.

We are starting to live with Covid and many people and organisations have been working incredibly hard to support children in this "new normal". They have been providing them with opportunities missed by the pandemic, helping in them gaining life skills and nurturing their wellbeing. Shine Drama Workshops, with a gratefully received grant from Swansea council and the Welsh government, as part of the Welsh Winter of Wellbeing, have joined this mission.

Over February half term we ran free Drama and confidence building classes for children aged two - eight years. Most of these children have never experienced an uninterrupted school year and cant really remember life before the virus came. The youngest, learning to walk and talk in lockdown. In one day we worked with 29 individuals from Swansea and ran classes which supported wellbeing and helped with -

Building self confidence and self esteem,

Building independence,

Building team work and problem solving skills,

Developing social skills.

We provided opportunities for physical activity, to meet new people and to try something new through -

Storytelling,

Games,

Drama,

Use of props, sensory equipment, musical instruments and music.

It was an absolute pleasure working with these children and Jo and Hannah had so much fun.

Everyone that attended enjoyed and this is some of the fantastic feedback we had from the sessions -

"Carry on the good work! ........Well planned and at right age for children attending.

These sessions have been thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you very much".

"I thought the session was brilliant and my little boy hasn't stopped talking about it since"

" Excellent session for both my children, they thoroughly enjoyed performing and acting out the story. "

Thank you to all of those that attended and thank you to Swansea council's Winter of Wellbeing initiative. #winterofwellbeing