The holiday season has come and gone and a new year is here! If you are looking for a fun and engaging activity for the kids, try giving back this year.

Volunteering is a great way to not only enjoy quality time together, but you’ll also be giving the perfect gift to those in need!

How Volunteering Benefits Kids

There are plenty of benefits for children who volunteer, including:

• Teaches appreciation
• Enhances world perspective
• Influences balanced habits
• Builds social skills
• Develops sense of purpose
• Improves self-awareness
• Teaching valuable life skills

And so much more!

Learning how to act is more than just learning how to be an actor. According to Dr. Louis E. Catron at Appalachian State University, there are 25+ special advantages, or life skills, that students learn when they study theatre. We will break down a few of those skills here:

Communication Skills

Both oral and physical communication skills are important in everyday life. As students grow, it becomes increasingly important that their communication skills grow as well from giving presentations in school to effectively expressing their emotions.

Acting provides the skills to speak with confidence in front of groups as small as two or three to as large as 100 and beyond! Through speech activities, students sharpen their articulation, projection, and vocal dynamics to be able to speak clearly and convey emotions effectively. This allows for clear and precise verbal communication.

Movement skills help students convey emotions and stories without the use of words. It teaches them to be very specific with the way they use their facial expressions to convey emotions and how they move their bodies to communicate. Acting reminds students that moments of stillness can be powerful. And gives them room to explore, in their own way, how to be comfortable and confident in their own skin.

Working Cooperatively 

A lot of acting involves group work. Creating group scenes, improv with a partner, theatre games with the whole class, etc. And in an acting class, there can be people of all different ages, backgrounds, and skill sets. All of these different people end up in the same room together for one reason: to act.

Students learn to work cooperatively in these group settings to reach a common goal. Flexibility and the ability to adapt is a vital skill that is learned during acting classes because each person must support the group in any way they can while ensuring no one is left out. “There is no room for “we” versus “they” behavior; the “star” diva is a thing of the past.”

Creative Problem Solving 

The ability to solve a problem in a new and creative way is a skill that is highly sought after. And it is one that can be attained with practice.

During an acting class, students are given new characters or situations to then build off of. Unless there is a script involved, students must use their creativity and ingenuity to create a whole world from very little.

For example, the teacher might tell a group “You are a band of pirates looking for treasure” and that is all they get. How they look for treasure, their relationships, where they are, and more is all up to the group.

If that same prompt is given to 5 different groups, odds are there will be 5 completely different scenes. Space pirates, lazy pirates, pirates who speak their own language, and more. This is creativity at work. The “problem” to be solved here is there is a missing story and we need to find it. The “solving” comes from the students using their imagination and creative thinking to, very quickly, create a unique world from scratch.

These problem-solving skills convert easily to everyday life. Students begin to look at problems from a new perspective. A project at school or a small fight with a friend. Instead of solving the problem the lazy pirate way, they choose the space pirate way.

How to have Fun

 Overall, acting gives students the permission to be whoever or whatever they want. It encourages them to be silly and not to take themselves so seriously. In a world where it is so important to be academically successful and as art programs get pulled from schools, it is vital that students still have the ability to be creative and have fun.

Acting is hard work just as any other skill is. It requires practice and dedication. And it is these life skills, and many more, that make acting such a wonderful thing to learn.

Learn more about the acting/life skills that Drama Kids teaches today! Get in touch for details on our class offerings.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month and along with individuals around the nation, Drama Kids unite to present a powerful message that bullying should never be a part of childhood.

According to a study done by Comparitech, almost 60 percent of parents with children aged 14 to 18 reported them being bullied with nearly 83 percent of parents saying the bullying happened at school, and 32 percent saying it happened on the bus.

However, due to the pandemic, children increasingly find themselves on the internet taking classes, participating in after school activities, and engaging in social interactions. This increased online time can lead to an increase in cyberbullying.

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyber Bullying itself is a very broad term but includes any form of repeated abuse to a person directed through technology from another person.

According to “Cyberbullying: What Is Cyberbullying and How to Stop It”, an article on CallerSmart.com, The difference between traditional bullying, which takes place in person, and cyberbullying, is that the latter must involve the use of technology. Additionally, to be defined as cyberbullying, the interaction between two or more people must contain the following elements:

• The action must be willful. The behavior has to be intentional, not accidental.
• The incident must have occurred more than once. Bullying reflects a repeated pattern of behavior.
• The victim must perceive that harm was inflicted.

Where can Cyberbullying Happen?

Social media sites are where cyberbullying is the most prevalent. Websites like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter, though some sites pose a higher risk than others. Comparitech shows that parents perceive Facebook to have the highest risk of  cyberbullying incidents but in reality, studies have shown that Instagram is where a higher number of cyberbullying incidents take place. This is due to the increased number of teen users on instagram while parental presence is greater on Facebook.

According to Comparitech, Children aged 6 to 10 spent an average of 50 minutes a day on social media, while those aged 19 and older spent an average of 72.7 minutes online. Over a year, kids aged 6 to 10 spend an average of over 18,000 minutes on social media.

These numbers might seem alarming and cast a bad light on social media but social media is not inherently bad. It connects children and teens to their friends and enables socialization. Simply limiting the amount of time kids spend on it each day can broaden their horizons to other activities and decrease their risk of being bullied.

What can Parents Do?

There are many resources available to assist parents in identifying, addressing, and stopping cyberbullying.

Make sure your child knows the signs of cyberbullying.

Teaching your children appropriate ways to respond to bullying is extremely important.

You can help them improve their social skills and learn the importance of their words. When children can stick up for themselves verbally and be assertive, it can drastically improve the situation. These commanding words and sentences include things like:

“I want a turn now.”

“I don’t like this.”

“No.”

“Stop.”

“Cut it out.”

Stay aware of any changes in your child’s behaviour. Children usually do not share with their parents when they are being bullied but their attitude and behavior might change.

Suggest enrollment in safe activities or hobbies that keep children and teens away from social media.

Encourage “offline time” away from devices connected to the internet. Use this time to spend together eating family dinner or engaging in a new hobby.

Communicate the importance of a “digital reputation”. Share with them that anything put online, stays online and to only post things you want others to see.

Other ways to help your child can be modeling positivity, instilling a healthy self-esteem, emphasizing friendship skills, and teaching them positive self-talk and how to learn from mistakes. You can also role-play various bullying scenarios so your child will be ready and prepared to handle them if it were to happen.

Drama Kids International is proud to offer ACT UP! to Stop Bullying, a series of anti-bullying workshops that is designed with 3rd through 5th grade students in mind. If you are interested in learning more about this drama program and how it can be brought to your school, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

Your child’s mental wellbeing is extremely important. More so in this time of constant change though with the introduction of online classes for this new year, it can be tough to get the help your child might need. Luckily, you can support your growing thinker through more than just schools and psychologist’s offices. According to WayAhead.org.au, a study was done by The Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) to see if their drama program impacted the mental health of their participants over the past few decades.

They found of the more than 1,200 people who participated in the survey, 89% reported participating in the drama program had a positive impact on their self-confidence and 94% of respondents said it had a positive impact on their overall sense of wellbeing. 52% of people – slightly more than half of all respondents – indicated that ATYP had a positive or very positive impact on their anxiety levels.

These results could be because, in a digital age, theatre provides an environment to personally engage with others and can be a practical way to address serious issues that society is facing such as bullying, friendship, family relationships, etc. According to the report, “One person noted that as a young boy, he suffered from bullying and severe anxiety. ‘ATYP helped bring me out of my shell and nurtured my passion for performing.’”

Theatre can also promote self-confidence and self-expression. Fraser Corfield, the Artistic Director of ATYP states, “We talk about the importance of self-expression and telling your own story and “finding your tribe”, which is a term that youth theatres use over and over, …” and a “tribe” is exactly what children who participate in the performing arts can find. In theatre, you are encouraged to be 100% your authentic self so the friendships and bonds you make are usually incredibly strong and long-lasting.

The most beautiful thing about this connection between mental health and theatre is, “these benefits occur without any conversation around mental health. So there’s part of me that goes ‘we need to keep that because I think the death knell of theatre, and theatre for young people, is that we keep using theatre to try and teach young people about something’,” according to Fraser. The benefits come solely from the students having fun transforming into new characters, creating scenes with friends, or just getting to be silly by moving around the room in creative ways.

Theatre does not live only in the classroom. As the great William Shakespeare wrote in his play, As You Like It, “All the world’s a stage”. So we want to give you some resources to help you transform your world into your very own theatrical stage!

ONLINE CLASSES

Lincoln Center at Home

Hold tight to your connection with the arts with The Lincoln Center. They are offering daily classes for kids, teens, and families as well as videos of performances to enjoy with the whole family. Learn more about Lincoln Center at Home here.

CalendarKiddo

This amazing resource curates a number of different activities for kids and families. In a neat and easy to use calendar, you can see what events are available each day to keep theater alive in your home. They offer a range of dance, music, and theater classes. See more about CalendarKiddo here.

New Victory Arts Break

What a wonderful thing to take a break each day and play around in the world of art. Join New Victory Theatre Company in a little break from your work or school day and learn a new skill! They offer ideas for parents to incorporate performing arts into online learning. Each week they focus on different art forms including acrobatics, tap dancing, set and costume design, and more guided by New Victory Teaching Artists. Get involved with New Victory Arts Break today!

STORYTIME

#SaveWithStories

Hop on over to Instagram to hear some of your favorite celebrities read beautiful stories. The account @SaveWithStories was created to enhance children’s learning and provide stories to kids during the pandemic. Cuddle with your little one and enjoy stories like “3 Little Monkies” read by Benedict Cumberbatch and more.

Storyline

Reading aloud to children has been shown to improve reading, writing and communication skills, logical thinking and concentration, and general academic aptitude, as well as inspire a lifelong love of reading. With this in mind, Storyline was created! Storyline Online is available 24 hours a day for children, parents, caregivers, and educators worldwide. Join celebrities like Chris Pine for wonderful stories and amazing illustrations then print the activity guide to supplement learning. Learn more about Storyline here.

#OperationStoryTime

If you search the hashtag #OperationStoryTime on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube you will find a wonderful world of stories! Readers open up a world of magic through books right in your very own living room.

PERFORMANCES

La MaMa Kids Online

La MaMa Theatre Company is live streaming and offering video on-demand versions of short plays that are perfect for kids. They open up an amazing world of imagination through puppetry! Watch La MaMa Kids Online today.

Shakespeare’s Globe

If you love Shakespeare, then you do not need to travel to London to see the breathtaking performances at the Globe Theatre. They offer performances to download, stream, rent, or buy through their website all at a very reasonable price point. They are also creating a series of video projects that you can peruse through. Check it out here today.

Watch Musicals From Home

Broadway World has put together an incredible list of all of the musicals (157 to be exact) that you can stream from home. From Disney’s Descendents to classics like The King and I, there is a musical for everyone! Gather the family, grab your snacks, and settle in for a family theatre night. Find your favorites here.

We are taking on the challenge of being apart physically but through theatre, we are never truly alone! Theatre lives inside each of us and will keep uniting us even through the darkest times. No matter what, keep creating, keep strong, and shine your light bright!