January 25, 2016
Last Sunday, all of our wonderfully talented One Day facilitators and office team gathered in Leeds for a jam-packed day of tips-sharing, workshop-learning and team-building! Steph, our Artistic Director, kicked off all the fun in the morning with some introductory exercises to get to know one another and get everybody motivated and energised.
The facilitators then took on the role of the pupils as they each shared their favourite warm-up games they use on their workshop days. You may know some of these as ‘Build a Shed’ and ‘Boom Chicka Boom’!
After introducing all of the office team (and putting some faces to names!), the group split into three and had the task of creatively delivering what being a One Day Facilitator entails, our promise statements, company values and expectations, and the attributes that make an outstanding children’s workshop facilitator.
Then some of our more experienced facilitators led their favourite workshops to share their ideas and delivery styles. Carly Wood, one of our Drama and Dance facilitators, took the group back in time to the Savage Savage Stone Age. She also went through some tips on how to make the most of a child’s creative potential!
Amy Martin, also in our Drama and Dance Team, then shared her approach to our E-Safety workshops. She explained the importance of making children aware of the dangers of the Internet, and how to recognise and report any form of bullying or abuse. She stressed how the aim of these workshops is not to make children frightened of the Internet and to deter them, but to ensure they are using it wisely and safely!
Samantha Suttle then introduced one of our newest projects, the Mindfulness workshop, which is becoming more and more popular in our schools. She explained how the workshop’s aim is to help children to recognise and accept their feelings, which subsequently can help us deal with our emotions more rationally. She introduced us to a prop she uses which visually represents her aim of the Mindfulness workshops: she uses a bottle filled with water and glitter to symbolise how emotions can be heightened (when the bottle is shaken up) until the glitter settles, when we have taken a step back and allowed it to settle.
After such a revitalising and motivational day, Our One Day facilitators are now raring to go and take 2016 by storm as we look forward to delivering our fresh and exciting workshops to your school this year!
Love, Aimee and the One Day Team x