Happy 12th Birthday Perform
12 months. 12 disciples. 12 star signs. 12 years of Perform.
On 8th January 2012, Perform was 12 years old and I, for one, can’t quite believe it. It was January 8th 2000 when I started my first ever Perform class at Primrose Hill Community Centre with just 4 children. And now, 12 years later, we have over 4,000 children attending our classes every week in over 200 venues from London to Brighton, to Winchester to Leighton Buzzard and to Oxford.
I’d started planning Perform in June 1999 and my business partner Will and I had spent hours and hours even before then thinking of how we could create the best ever drama workshops for young children. We’d worked for other drama schools and we wanted to do something better. Something with child’s development at the heart of the workshops instead of vocal technique, dance steps, lines and auditions. An opportunity for young children to have fun with drama, dance and singing, but without the pressure of having to be “talented” or competing with others. Read more »
Discovering your “fun” and “firm” voices
When we train our teachers for Perform classes, one of the sections we spend the longest time working on is their voices. I’m not talking about their singing voices here; they are, after all, trained actors and singers and wouldn’t get to the training stage if they didn’t have a great instrument. What we work on is teaching them how to effectively use their voice to inspire and control children.
At Perform, we encourage our teachers to have two different types of voices for effective teaching: their energised, fun and inspiring voice for the majority of the time; and a low and firm no nonsense voice to use to ensure control when necessary. Read more »
Separation anxiety: How to leave your child for the first time
It’s nearly back-to-school time and that means that some children will be starting school for the first time, others will be moving to new schools and most will be moving up an academic year to new classroom surroundings and a new teacher.
Now, I’m a confident thirty-something woman but even I get a bit apprehensive when I try something new. It’s normal for even the most outgoing of people so it must be incredibly scary for a young child entering a completely new environment.
Luckily, most teachers are very used to dealing with separation anxiety and they have time-tested procedures to allow children to adapt as easily as possible and integrate into the class successfully. But what about us mums? Read more »
Rainy days and Mondays
With half term approaching and the British weather being what it is, it’s always a good idea to be prepared and plan some activities to avoid finding yourself with a house full of grumpy bored faces.
So here are my top favourite ‘rainy day’ activities purloined from the Perform Book Of Brilliant Things To Do. Some of them might seem a bit sketchy but they’ve all been tried and tested and anyway the simplest ideas are often the best. Quite a few involve music so have an ipod/ CD player and a few different CDs to hand.
Potion Play
All children love playing with water and I’m sure that yours are no exception. This activity needs close supervision but can be a lot of fun and great for stimulating imaginations.
Tell your children that you are all going to be magicians who have to make up some magic potions. Get together some clear plastic tumblers, put them in a washing up bowl and put them on a table your children can sit at. First of all, you have to make sure that all the equipment is really clean so show them how to wash and dry everything up beautifully (also useful for the future!).
Now part-fill the tumblers with water and put a drop of different coloured food colouring (the stuff you use for icing cakes) in each. Now challenge them to make up different potions according to their own recipes. It’s amazing how much they love adding the different colours to see what happens. For every potion they create, they must give it a name and say what it is for. Read more »
1, 2, 3, MAGIC (or is it?)
Behaviour has been at the forefront of my mind this week.
After the sugar-fuelled highs of Easter and the tantrum/headache-inducing lows of ‘back to school’, I’ve been considering how to regain some routine, balance and harmony into my family life.
Ok, so maybe I’m being optimistic here (!), but for me the desire to get ‘back to normal’ after holidays is always a strong one.
I really enjoy the freedom that a holiday brings; spirits are high and rules are relaxed. There is unlimited time to play, more treats and bedtimes are not so strictly observed. BUT….back to work/school/real life brings with it inevitable restrictions which can cause confusion and sometimes a rather unsettled period. I mentioned in my last blog that I had started to introduce my own formula for dealing with my 3 year old’s tantrums (I say “zip”, count to 10 then “let’s sort it out”) and I received a few interesting techniques from others I thought I’d share with you. Read more »
Going on an Easter Egg Hunt!
In writing this post, I’m hoping to sufficiently distract myself from the Easter Treats which I’ve just purchased for the children… but they are calling my name… just so you know ;)
As a child, my Granny always used to do Easter Egg Hunts for us, and this year, I’m planning to do the same for my two. I clearly remember my Granny’s painstakingly typed clues which led us all around her house and through the garden (weather permitting) collecting teeny tiny foil wrapped eggs leading to a treasure trove of chocolate eggs and simnel cake. Marvellous!
Kids Say The Funniest Things
I was chatting to a few parents after a Perform class this week, when one of the children came running up to me; very excitedly:
“Lucy, Lucy – I’ve got a massive brew – do you want to see?”
Amused and somewhat intrigued I said yes, of course. He rolled up the leg of his tracksuit bottoms to proudly display a very large bruise.
“Wow” I said “That really is massive, but you know it’s called a bruise, not a brew.”
“No” he said “I’ve only got one of them!”
Fabulous, eh? It’s hard to argue with logic like that – anything with an ‘s’ sound is plural :)
It got us talking about the other funny things children say – ranging from the cute to the cringe-worthy:
Eating Out with Your Child
Eating out should be fun, right?
Sadly, I know some parents who’ve given up on eating out with their children altogether as they’ve found the experience entirely too much of a trauma to bother with.
I love eating out (no cooking, no washing up – what’s not to love?) but like many parents have found it tricky to keep my children amused (and indeed seated) when in a restaurant.
I’ve canvassed opinion from a few Perform parents and popped some tips below which hopefully you’ll find useful:
