Every now and again I come across a class which is unique. Something which is a little different which provides a refreshing alternative for you and your little ones. Relax Kids is one of those classes.
We were invited to take part in one of their Little Stars sessions and we truly enjoyed every moment. It was a thoughtful, well structured class which introduced us to a whole range of emotions. We arrived to find the room set up and ready to go, bright coloured mats, each with their own little packet of raisins... snacks are always a winner!! We picked our mat and waited for everyone to arrive. The snacks were a great way to occupy us before we began.
The Relax Kids classes follow a structure each week which encourages children to become more resilient and teaches them tools they require to manage their physical, emotional and mental health and wellbeing. In a time where managing our own self care has to be consciously prioritised, it’s great to think our children may learn to consider their own wellbeing from such a young age and perhaps eventually mindfulness will become second nature to everyone. Each week they children follow the 7 steps of relaxation which provides a familiar structure of activities.
After short introductions, we started with a story called 'The Colour Monster' by Anna Llenas which was a fabulous exploration of feelings through colour by aid of a pop up book. Associating feelings with colours is a wonderful way of exploring ourselves and the children really engaged with it, we ordered our own copy as soon as we got home!
Step 1 of the class structure is MOVE, so Jules got us up on our feet, dancing around and having a good sing song too. Raising our heartbeats and expelling some energy. There were bubbles, ribbons and everyone joined in! It was lovely afterwards to sit and take time to feel our hearts pumping, Boo was very excited as she learnt a lot about heartbeats when I was carrying her brother in my tummy, I don’t think she realised she had one as well!
Step 2 we moved onto PLAY. All children love a balloon (until they realise they pop!!) so we each had a coloured balloon to blow up in a range of colours, we used the feelings associations for the task and we had green, which was calm. We then had to write on the balloon all the things that made us feel calm, like snuggles, stories, milk and mummy! It was a great way to build on their understanding of feelings and engage with them about the activities they do on a daily basis. The balloons were then piled onto a big parachute, mixing up all the feelings and providing a great opportunity for play!
3 was a great step, STRETCHING. Using visual aids children could try a range of different stretch poses and were rewarded with star stickers for their efforts, we loved the starfish stretch!!
4 we explored FEEL by meeting a wonderful rainbow puppet full of his own mix of emotions! We each had a cuddle as we passed him around the group very carefully. We talked about how he felt and how he made us feel which was calm and happy!
5 was BREATHE. An important technique to help children connect with themselves and feel calm. This weeks task was using the expandable breathing balls, breathing in as they were expanded and out as the children contracted them. There was a considerable amount of concentration from them all during this task which was wonderful to see and definitely one we will be trying at home.
Step number 6 was BELIEVE and this was one of our favourite steps, the chocolate cake massage! Following some lovely steps, an opportunity for a toddler massage allowing a fun bonding experience. Boo now has a little massage of her own which she has in the evening after her little brother has his which makes her feel very special indeed!
Finally step 6, RELAX. A cuddle and some lovely music, something we don’t always take the time to do when they get older!! To finish off the session there was an opportunity to read books and make our own colour monster. I have no idea how we managed to fit so much into the session. It was wonderful! It felt very grown up to be exploring feelings with a two year old but she accessed the material in the session with ease and flair and now regularly talks about feelings and different colours. We have incorporated so many of the techniques we learnt into our week and look forward to discovering more in future classes - every week is different!!
If you are looking for something new and unique to try, we would highly recommend this class. Jules is a great facilitator and the space at Lanterns is perfect to encourage children to be attentive yet explorative. A big thumbs up from us!
Tuesday's Little Stars 2-5yrs 10.30-11.25 @ Lanterns
Tuesdays 5-9yrs 4pm-5pm @ Winchester Racquets Club
https://www.facebook.com/Relax-Kids-Winchester-with-Jules-1989478841321272/
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