"Preparing to go into a primary school is always a bit nerve-wracking. I don't take it for granted I'll immediately know how to create a positive experience for children. I prepare as best I can and then just plunge in, figuring it out in the moment when the little people arrive, their excited bodies coming into the room, full of anticipation, always (always!) gives me a lift.
"I was asked by Daisi to deliver workshops about Climate Change and Oceans for a school in Teignmouth, funded by The Helen Foundation. I hadn't heard about THF and was moved to read about the work they do before going in. Annie Kirk and her colleague Sarah from THF came to the school and watched the first session.
"I wondered what they'd make of it, of me encouraging a child to try and move another child unaided (who was lying down, under strict instruction not to help the mover by making themselves as heavy as possible) out of the circle. What does any of that have to do with Climate Change?
"Briefly during and after the session, I tried to communicate to Annie something about awareness, responsibility, care for another person, care for things... There's always more to say about the process but I knew instantly that Annie and Sarah could see for themselves, that I didn't need to explain. That working with movement, some of it very quiet and intimate, was valued.
"I've since learnt more about THF. I sense the devotion, the years of labour, the effort, tenacious 'keeping going', just as Daisi does, to keep making experiences through the arts happen for children.
"I don't take it for granted, it's a privilege to go into a school and share my love of moving with children. It's not hugely visible work, and without organisations like these who tirelessly fight I'd be less able to do it, and children would have fewer opportunities to do it too.
Does it really matter?
I really think it does..."
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