Dear All,
Hope everyone has had a great week so far. The Miracle team has been keeping busy preparing for an upcoming workshop in June. Schools in India have closed down for summer vacation, so the kids across homes are killing time reading, playing, doing holiday homework and indulging in dance and singing classes. Meanwhile at Deepalaya last week , we conducted a Learning through Stories Workshop for kids of all the age groups. The younger lot was especially excited because they had never attended a workshop before. ‘Learning Through Stories’ program is designed to act as a natural extension to a school’s curriculum.The program is an effective teaching tool and helps develop a number of meaningful skills .i.e. Leadership Skills, Creative Writing, Public Speaking, Problem Solving, Stress Management, Decision Making, Gratitude, Tolerance, Emotional Intelligence, Team Work and Social Skills.
Storyteller, Jaishree began the introductory session with a module on Conflict Management for the older group of kids,both boys and girls. The module was designed to help kids deal with aggression, anti-social behavior, bullying and to resolve conflict effectively. The children were made to narrate the first story that they had heard in their childhood. The objective was to encourage children to open up and express their emotions. The children were given worksheets in which they resolved conflict situations through story boards and story writing. The younger boys especially were very vocal about their feelings and emotions. The session led them on a nostalgic trip and brought out their deep rooted fears and anxiety. Overall, the kids had an enriching session and learnt to cope with issues of conflict.
For the younger boys and girls, as session on Emotional intelligence was conducted. This module was designed to help kids understand the following-
- Self Awareness and other awareness
- Mood Management
- Self Motivation
- Empathy
- Management of Relationships
Storyteller Jaishree narrated an old Chinese folklore to the kids . The participants were asked to write stories on emotion cards with mood pictures. After the kids completed their task, the stories were aloud in front of the group.
The moderator asked the kids to write down their fears on pieces of paper and put them in a box. The box acted a garbage bin which would help them dispose off their fears.
Participants accepted various moods and emotions, especially anger. They also learned that avoidance of minor irritants and delaying the response in heat of the moment is a better solution.
The day ended on a good note and the children seemed enthusiastic about their follow up sessions. The next sessions will be held in a span of four weeks which will include a recap of the previous session and lots of new stories.
It amazed us how storytelling was used as an innovative medium to help children accept, fight and cope with various issues of adolescence and childhood.
More in my next post.
Much love and respect,
Snigdha Raha
Communication & Sponsorship Co-ordinator,
