Shine Summer 2023 Weekly Focuses Edition

Autumn term 2023

Child development is at the heart of our weekly classes. We use engaging creative themes to deliver a different social or life skill every week. Whether we’re working on good manners, learning about expressing feelings or developing spatial awareness, we bring it all to life using fun games, songs and dances. Below, you can see an overview of the focuses we will cover during the autumn term alongside our themes: Around the World for 4–7s and Cinderella Rocks for 7–12s.

Week 1: 2nd - 8th September

Welcome to the autumn term!

Filled with lots of fun ice-breaker games, we’ll welcome old faces back after the summer break and meet new friends who are joining Perform for the first time.

We’ll get started on our fantastic new themes: Around the World for 4–7s and Cinderella Rocks for 7–12s.

Week 2: 9th - 15th September

Physical self-confidence

Physical confidence is displayed in the way we move our bodies, whether that’s to sit, stand, walk, dance or run. The good news is that changing the way we move can affect how we feel inside.

4-7s: In Walk Like A Wallaby, we’ll explore different ways of moving which helps develop mobile coordination and the ability to express physical self-confidence.

7-12s: We’ll learn some confident rock star poses as we look at how body language and posture affect how we are perceived by others.

Week 3: 16th - 22nd September

Non-verbal communication

Children quickly understand the power of eye contact, facial expressions and gestures.

4–7s: By breathing fire like a dragon, we’ll demonstrate the effect of non-verbal signals and encourage positive open communication.

7–12s: By “throwing away” words, we’ll discover the most powerful communication is via gesture, eye contact, facial expression, posture and vocal intonation.

Week 4: 23rd - 29th September

Good manners

Good manners are at the heart of respect for ourselves and for others.

4–7s: Baking a Mississippi Mud Pie using a recipe filled with politeness helps children understand the benefits of friendly and respectful exchanges.

7–12s: We’ll role-play examples of good and bad manners, demonstrating the impact that bad manners can have on a situation and the negative impression they can leave.

Week 5: 30th September - 6th October

Expressing our feelings

Bottling up our feelings can lead to pent-up frustration and moods. Learning how to express themselves allows children to distinguish themselves from others, reflects their beliefs and validates their ideas.

4–7s: We’ll use an exercise which encourages the children to open up and talk confidently about themselves.

7–12s: We’ll challenge the children to try to articulate their emotions and discuss when, how and with whom it’s best to share them.

Week 6: 7th - 13th October

Developing empathy

Empathy for others is a vital life skill enabling us to develop and maintain friendships. For actors, empathy allows you to take on the emotions of the character you are portraying.

4–7s: Meeting the Zulu princess encourages the children to think about ways they can be welcoming to a new person in any situation.

7–12s: We’ll discuss the different between sympathy and empathy and explore the power of emotional memory.

Week 7: 14th - 20th October

Overcoming our inhibitions

Shyness or embarrassment is a normal reaction to unfamiliar situations but can inhibit social interactions and limit our achievements.

4–7s: This week, we’ll practise overcoming our fears using a series of branching scenarios and then discuss whether we can see the positive results.

7–12s: We’ll use games and exercises to see how inhibitions can affect us, then explore role-play scenarios to find ways to deal with them.

Week 8: 21st - 22nd October

Delicious diction

Ensuring that people can hear what we’re saying is an important part of communicating clearly.

4–7s: Performing tongue-twisters like the Pyramid Rap helps children explore fast rhyming patterns and increases their confidence and dexterity when speaking.

7–12s: We’ll learn about diction, clarity and volume as we practise speaking activities which enhance public speaking confidence.

Week 9: 28th & 29th October

When to use a loud voice

Many children lack awareness of their vocal volume, speaking too loudly in quiet places or too softly elsewhere.

4–7s: We’ll discuss different environments and how to decide on the “right” voice for different situations.

7–12s: A loud voice can be used to our advantage when acting but this is not always the right choice. We’ll look at appropriate times to use vocal projection.

Week 10: 30th October - 3rd November

Spatial awareness

Being aware of one’s personal space helps us be considerate about the space we give to others.

4–7s: Waddling like a penguin is an excellent starting point for thinking about the space we and others need to feel comfortable.

7–12s: We’ll look at how to stay focused on our own role while also being mindful of what our fellow actors are doing at the same time.

Week 11: 4th - 10th November

Standing up to bullying

Resilience is a fundamental skill which helps a child learn how to stay strong in difficult situations.

4–7s: We play a game that role-plays the moment of decision when our child or their friend is being bullied and workshop strategies for resilience and self-confidence.

7–12s: We’ll learn some techniques for dealing with being teased or picked on and who we should talk to if we’re in this situation.

Week 12: 11th - 17th November

Actions and consequences

Learning about the consequences of our actions is a vital step in learning to make good life choices.

4–7s: Linking this message to the effects of global warming, we’ll reinforce the importance of preserving the world around us.

7–12s: We’ll discuss what consequences are and act out scenarios using ‘what would happen if…’ as we look at how different actions can lead to different outcomes.

Week 13: 18th - 24th November

I'm ready to perform!

Looking back at the skills we’ve learnt this term, we’ll recap using them when we’re on stage. We’ll consider physical self-confidence whilst being spatially aware, and practise excellent diction and vocal projection.

Week 14 & 15: 25th November - 8th December

Final preparations for our show

It’s time to perfect our moves, vocals and body language now we’ve mastered our lines and dance routines. We’ll practise projecting our voices, moving with confidence and using excellent expression so that we’re ready for next week’s dress rehearsal. For costume inspiration visit performshop.co.uk