Do you have a painfully shy child? Would you like to draw them out of their shell and help them become more confident and self-assured? Consider enrolling them in drama lessons. These lessons not only provide fun; they provide a safe environment where your child can be anything, do anything, and dream anything. They will soon realise the enormous benefits of working as a team to accomplish a single goal; they will relinquish their fear of others and of social situations.
When your child feels more confident and has that sense of ‘belonging’ a whole new world opens up for them. You will see better report cards coming home, a bigger circle of friends and more social activities. It is never too late to enrol your child in drama lessons, but the general rule is the earlier the better.
There are different types of drama lessons, depending on your child’s age. For pre-schoolers, picture books and finger puppets are very effective. The children look at the pictures and guess what is going on in the story, or what will happen next. They could act out the story, or they could make up an entirely different story. This encourages the children to work together and builds trust. It’s amazing what kind of ideas kids can come up with when they are all working together! You, as a parent, can also encourage these activities at home. It’s a great way to get the whole family involved.
For school-age children, some of the same methods can be applied, with more complex story lines and pictures. They may be encouraged to write their own stories by looking at the pictures. Some teachers also encourage them to use all their senses – based on what is going on in the story, what are the sounds, smells, etc? This encourages creativity and requires the children to think on a deeper level. There is really no limit to drama lessons and activities.
For older children, and young adults, teachers may encourage students to write their own stories based on books or movies. For example, they may watch a movie in another language (no subtitles), and write a story with an entirely different plot. Another good exercise is for each student to write one sentence and pass along to the next, until a full story has been written. Then, they can act out the story as a group. If they have been participating in drama lessons for a length of time, they will be well prepared for this activity.
Most parents want their child to participate in a sport, like football or basketball; but if your child is introverted or non-athletic, this can do more harm than good. Everyone remembers that kid in school that was always picked last for the team? That can be detrimental to a child’s self-esteem. Enrolling them in drama lessons will build their confidence, self-esteem and get them on a path to creative living.
