Half of mental health problems start by the age of 14 (source).
1 in 5 children experience mental health difficulties (source).
Children and young people with mental health difficulties go an average of 10 years between becoming unwell and getting help (source).
These statistics are horrific but there are small things we can do that will make a big difference.
I’ve been hosting creative wellbeing workshops for all ages for nearly two years now but attendance at my children’s sessions has dropped. I need to charge for tickets to cover my expenses (resources, room hire) and workshops aren’t a priority for families in a cost-of-living crisis. For Children’s Mental Health Week, I wanted to do something that would reach as many children as possible and I’m pleased to say that I reached 290 children over two days.
Thanks to my friends at Clairefontaine and STAEDTLER, I was able to go into two local primary schools and not only deliver intro to creative journaling workshops to every single class (from reception to year six), but I was also able to give each child a notebook and selection of stationery so that they could continue journaling in their own time.
The children were absolutely delighted – and amazed that they were able to take everything home with them. I’m a firm believer that everyone should have their own notebook in which to express themselves. I told them that these notebooks were theirs to do whatever they wanted with (write, draw, paint, cut, stick, tear out pages) but that we were going to do a few activities together to see what they might find helpful. We focused on self-awareness, gratitude, resilience, mindfulness, self-esteem, goal setting, affirmations, glimmers, and self-care, and they were so receptive.
Journaling has the power to help people reduce anxiety, manage stress, and cope with depression (source) but by evolving the practice from diary writing and self-reflection to something more free and creative, a notebook’s potential to change lives increases exponentially. I reiterated to the children that these notebooks were theirs to do whatever they want with and ensured that the workshops included some ‘free time’ for them to start expressing themselves in their own ways. Some continued previous activities, some wrote stories, some made and decorated paper aeroplanes, some drew pictures, some did mark making… There wasn’t a single child that didn’t engage in some way and it was so reassuring to see.
I asked every class to raise their hand if they ever to struggle to go to sleep because they have too much on their mind and every single person, pupils and teachers, raised their hand. This was such a simple yet effective starting point, reassuring the children that we all struggle to manage our thoughts and emotions, but there are simple activities that we can do to help us. I produced a teachers’ pack featuring additional activities that they can try in class and I’ll share some highlights from this in a future blog post.
The feedback from teachers, children, and parents has been lovely. One class said it was their favourite lesson of the year, countless children hugged me, some drew me pictures to say thank you, parents fed back that their children carried their notebooks all the way home and continued journaling as soon as they got home… It truly was a rewarding and eye-opening experience and I can’t wait to go back and do more. I’m particularly interested to teach modern calligraphy to some of the older children and offer creative wellbeing workshops to support the primary/secondary school transition.
“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world” – Malala Yousafzai
I would love to continue to visit schools in the West Cornwall area. If you’re a local teacher, please get in touch: e.farley27@gmail.com
I will be back at Morrab Library with more children’s workshops later in the year, including a particularly exciting afternoon for National Stationery Week, on Saturday 18 May.