Building Confidence in Children

My child is shy and struggles to communicate, what can I do?

My child is really confident but won’t share or work well with other children, help?

These are constant struggles that parents have with their children as they grow and become more independent. We all know that Drama and Musical Theatre are great for developing speech patterns and communication but did you also know performing arts helps children to-

• Build on their listening skills

At the beginning of our classes we have circle time that involves using special listening ears that are individual colours to each child, making listening into a fun and exciting activity.

• Relax and develop breathing techniques

During classes, we use relaxation music and breathing exercises to help the children to stay calm and collected. The children don’t know this but whilst laying on the floor taking deep breaths they are actually starting to work their diaphragmatic muscles – which will become more important as they grow and develop as performers.

• Improve coordination and balance

We start every class with a musical warm up enabling your child to work on movement. Coordination, movement and balance are a big necessity in our classes as children are still learning about their bodies and how they move.

• Develop team building skills

Drama is a team activity. From their first class the children learn to work with each other and listen to others ideas before giving their own. There is nothing more special than seeing a confident member of the class helping a quieter child. They learn that as a team they will succeed.

• Develop self-esteem

Children are encouraged to speak their own thoughts during class – the validation of these thoughts, no matter how short or quiet they are helps the child to know that what they have said in front on their peers is good. This positive reinforcement over time helps a child to grow in confidence.

• Introduce storytelling and develop the imagination

A big part in our classes is the story journey that the children are taken on. All children are up on their feet whilst the teacher tells the story and everyone acts out what is being told. They use their imaginations to go to the places in the story and meet all the different characters along the way! This encourages the children to create their own stories and perform them with parents and friends at home. Many of the top prep schools require a story to be written in 10 minutes once the children reach 7 years old – I believe our story journeys will help the children with this once they are older.

Developing all these skills at this young age could help with your child’s future endeavors leading to great things further in life.

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