The young people at Afrocats arrived for a brand-new Creative Expression Saturdays session on our Youth of the World programme supported by Children in Need.
For lunch, we decided to offer them something different, and which they had been asking for a while – so we placed an order for some yummy fried chicken and fries, accompanied by spicy sauce or ketchup, and water was always available in case they got thirsty.
‘I’ve really been craving fries,’ said one of the young people – who clearly was in luck today!
And ‘The food today was perfect for the kids,’ commented one of the mums.
‘It was nice to extend the dance session. Maybe they're not quite ready to do it on their own yet, but I’m glad they remembered the steps from two weeks ago,’ (Lisa, dance practitioner)
Afterwards, we prepared everything needed for an arts session, including paintbrushes, coloured pencils, and watercolour paints in all shades, allowing their minds to run free to create a painting or drawing to be shared on Afrocats' social media.
The session lasted for one hour, and the children were deeply engaged, focusing intently on bringing their creations to life.
Artistic activity not only fosters creativity, but also encourages them to share the space and materials with one another.
‘I really enjoy painting,’ said one young person.
Check out everyone's fabulous paintings below!
Then, after a well-deserved break, everyone prepared for a dance session with practitioner Lisa.
The session began with an icebreaker exercise where the children said each other's names in a game that involved moving around the circle and swapping places while remembering names – what a challenge!
See everyone in action below:
Then they played another game, old favourite ‘Wink Murder,’ which helped them relax and loosen up before dancing - these two games are great fun for the participants and allowed Lisa to capture their attention for the upcoming dance activity.
Lisa reviewed the steps from the previous session, noting that some of the children successfully remembered them from before, and she then divided them into two groups to create an entrance before recapping the routine with the song ‘Feel Better When I’m Dancing’ by Meghan Trainor.
After a quick comfort break, Lisa introduced a few new steps to the routine and added sashes to bring more ‘flavour’ and dynamism to the dance, with the final step involving each participant to striking a free pose to express their personality.
At the end of the class, the participants performed the dance on their own with minimal help from Lisa, to assess what they had learned and their ability to recall the choreography.
To wrap up, one young person suggested a game of tag, which was the perfect way to finish, and meant that the session ended with everyone feeling happy and energised with some cool-down exercises.
These exercises helped relax and stretch the children’s bodies, leaving them refreshed and ready for the rest of their day.
‘What I enjoyed most today was the painting because it’s relaxing,’ said one participant.
‘I enjoyed the dancing the most, even more than the food!’ shared another.
‘It was nice to extend the dance session. Maybe they're not quite ready to do it on their own yet, but I’m glad they remembered the steps from two weeks ago,’ reflected Lisa.
‘I liked that they were engaged with the dance.’
See you next time for more crafty creations and dance antics on YOTW!
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