The Good, the Fun, And the Excitement at Easter Camp 2016!

...Refusing to be Ordinary!!!

The SPAN-HOG Easter camp 2016 which took place on March 27th, till April 9th, 2016 was a beehive of fun activities. There were lots of dancing, singing, drawing, swimming, drama and leadership programs.
The children got to explore their creative sides, and develop the spirit of team building.

They also got to learn the value of money, how to save, and work with a budget at the basic financial analysis lessons facilitated by the highly reputed Access Bank, PLC.

It was also exciting watching them in character in the drama presentation of 'Pirate Joe'. They learnt and portray their lines vigorously to a standing ovation by the audience.

Dance was a favourite time at the camp...

After some exciting dance routines, the kids are taken outside for a swim...

The last day of camp, which was also the highlight was when the children got to put together a presentation which comprised of all they learnt. Certificates of participation were also presented.

Easter Camp 2016 Is Here!

Make  the best out of the Easter and School Holidays by enrolling your little ones between the ages of 5 - 18 years old for the SPAN- HOG Easter Camp taking place from March 28th - April 9th, 2016!

Our camp venue is Salad Masters, 1, Fola Osibo street., off Akin Doherty off Admiralty Way, Lekki Phase 1. To register, please call 0809 190 0 700, 0809 357 1000.

Discount packages also available if you are bringing more than one child.

We can't wait to see you!

Real-Life Drama

As most people will say, “It’s just drama, just drama class. It’s not important”

 Except that we know the importance of the Helen O’Grady Drama program.

Our academy is one of the few places where real world life skills are taught. You know them. Communication, self-confidence, self-evaluation, creative thinking – these are the skills beyond the classroom, beyond school, right? Life skills, pretty much what everybody needs.

The drama classroom Theatre is such an amazing, amazing platform that we can really address so many things and kind of get a practice run at things that we don’t really get to practice in life sometimes. It’s just so open. But it’s also so free in that they’re exploring a character. Every time they say the line, it could come out differently and someone’s going to respond to them differently, and by using those stories and by using their experiences, you know, they get to make it their own.They enjoy taking a moment to watch their friends or taking a moment to be the center of attention.

As they advance in their drama lessons, we see then change , we‘ve seen them learn things by creating self-confidence in them, creating team and group work, the ability to listen, as well as other skills that will help them to be the best they can be no matter the type of profession they go for.

The Great Theatre!

"Drama classes are a fantastic means of developing confidence, self-esteem,and essential communication skills"says Duncan Rice of The Helen O' Grady Drama Academy Franchise. He also stated these classes help release the child's creative and expressive potential, which is one of the keys to healthy educational development.

The benefits of drama classes simply can't be overemphasized, one of which is the chance to do stage plays and theatre.

 Out of all developmental activities children are encouraged to go through, stage plays/Theatre is the one activity with the longest shelf life. This means that what they learnt from it will positively impact on who they will grow up to be in terms of their character.
The point? Let your child do theatre!and the reasons are best summed up in the words of Cathlyn Melvin, who went for drama classes as a child,and then started her own children theatre company. These reasons are solely based on her personal experience;

They’ll walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.  They’ll walk ten.  They’ll walk a hundred.  When a child reads a character, they’re forced to think, why would he have made that choice?  What’s he trying to get from the person he’s talking to?  How could he have done it differently?  Empathy is one of the top personality skills (yes, skills) necessary for strong corporate leadership later on,In Lauren Gunderson’s Huffington Post blog, How Theatre for Young People Could Change the World, she says that “so much of the toxicity in this world comes from a collective draining of empathy. We don't understand each other, and we don't want to. But theater invites us -- no, forces us -- to empathize.”  This practice lays the foundation for strength and compassion.

Theatre doesn’t tell you what to feel.   Art is based on personal experience.  Playing a role, designing a set, seeing a production, I might not see the same images or feel the same impulses as you.  And that’s how it’s meant to work.  It opens up pathways for all participants to explore their own emotions and views.  Involving your kids in art makes them free to think, free to feel, and free to explore who they want to become.

Theatre is great exposure to literature and history.  When I was in first grade, my class took a trip to our community children’s theatre to see a production of Just So Stories.  At the time, I didn’t know who Rudyard Kipling was, but afterward, I asked my teacher to help me find the Just So Stories book in our library.  Reading the stories, I made connections between what was happening on the page, and what happened during the performance.  I learned that Rudyard Kipling was also responsible for one of my favorite Disney movies – that one with Bhageera, and Baloo, and Mowgli.

Theatre provides the freedom to not be perfect.  Be big, be loud, be silly! it’s not about sounding pretty. It’s about telling a story and having fun. So we encourage the kids to try things.  Let loose.  If it doesn’t work, that’s okay – now we know and we can try something new!

Why We Love Christmas!

If there is ever a season, everyone looks forward to... Its Christmas! 

The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." For Christians, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus, and it is generally thought that the first Christmas took place in Rome in 336 A.D.

Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. It is an important religious day for Christians. It is recognized as a major holiday all around the world.There's just something about the season, the time of year, and the atmosphere that makes Christmas an all-time favorite. For children, its double the fun... Schools are closed and a lot of activities are up to fit into the Christmas mood. For our kids at the Helen O' Grady Drama Academy, Lagos Island, these are their top reasons why they love Christmas...

1. The food is delicious and so special.

Besides fruitcakes, there are dozens of holiday treats that make their mouths water. Chicken Pies  Christmas cookies, Specially made rice and spicy fried chicken included... these are things they look forward to every year.

2. The decorations are  fantastic.

Lets face it: nothing can beat the loaded window displays, the ribbons and garlands around streets, the glittering lights of various colors and doilies, and nativity scenes, and the Christmas trees...! making everything so magical. 

 

3. ...Presents.

Need We say more? The best gifts each year is usually around Christmas.

4. Family comes together.

Christmas is one of the most popular times in the year where they get to see their extended family, the grandparents,aunts, uncles, cousins who usually lavish them with gifts and attention.

5. Nativity plays

And Lastly our kids say Christmas also afford them the opportunity to bring their drama skills to use because different nativity plays that depict the origin of Christmas, what it stands for, as well as other related plays are usually staged and need we say it... they usually take center stage! Lights... Camera... Action!

INSIDE OUT!

INSIDE OUT WITH DRAMA - Focusing on their emotions

By now, we all know that Drama classes help boost your child's social skills, boost their confidence in situations, but have we ever thought of one very crucial benefit that is so obvious but we never really see? Its the rein in of emotions
Drama helps us to keep in touch with all of the emotions that we haven't necessarily been able to feel or express.

In Drama classes , during dramatic plays,  the children are usually in one character or the other, these characters more often than not, portray different emotions. In  our drama classes, at the Helen O'Grady Drama Academy, Lagos Island,we teach children how to bring out the right emotion that goes in line with each character, the context in which to show which emotion, and more importantly, how to pull back on it when it is time to do so.

Even when they are done with their drama lessons, this ability to be able to control their emotions stays with them and its becomes a very useful attribute as they grow older.

 

In our drama classes, they will be taught how to:

• Develop an ability to read other people's emotions
• Develop an ability to identify and to express one's own feelings or emotions
• Receive permission to have a wide range of feelings
• Build a vocabulary of words for naming feelings

Open up the advantages of letting your child into the world of drama where they will learn how to master their emotions by registering with us at the Helen O Grady Drama Academy, Lagos Island. Classes for the year 2016 starts 2nd week of January 2016. Our Drama studio is at Ocean Parade Gym, Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos Nigeria: Classes are on Saturdays,4 - 8 yr olds: 9am - 10am, 9 years old & above: 10am - 11am. We'll be expecting you!

High Energy Drama

We all have them, or at least have heard of them… very expressive children popularly known as Drama Queens or Kings. These are children whose emotional reactions are disproportionate in intensity to the situation.

Now having a dramatic child is not so bad. They are usually really fun, quite likeable. They are so great when it comes to anything active in the classroom. They really go that extra mile because it’s something they get excited about. They want to interact. They are the memorable children. They respond to life’s every turn with drama, drama, drama. HOWEVER sometimes they can be overly dramatic, giving outbursts as well as high level energy at the odd time.

You love your child dearly of course but the drama is well, something else. What’s a creative, doting parent to do? Get that child into drama class of course!

At Helen O’ Grady Drama Academy, Lagos Islands, our work is to channel that energy and not squelch it.

It may be that your drama queen or king is destined to be a performer. By channeling this dramatic energy to the stage, your child will have a direction in which to channel his or her big emotions.

Drama exists in every part of our lives… some just express it more readily. If you have a dramatic child, help him or her channel those dramatic tendencies with the Helen O’ Grady approach to Drama. And then, perhaps make a room on your shelf for a world class movie award in the near future.

Drama Does This to You!

‘The world is a global village’…

We all can’t count how many times we have heard that phrase, but really, with the growing trends happening all around us, the world literally, has turned into a tiny global village where it takes just a nanosecond to talk to anyone ... anywhere. With this, the need to be able to communicate more articulately and with confidence cannot be wished away anymore and good oratory skills is one of the many benefits that learning drama gives to your child.

At the Helen O' Grady Drama Academy, Lagos Island, we teach your child to:

• Learn a wide range of appropriate ways of communicating. They learn to project their voice and to speak words clearly.
• Learn the importance of empathy, as it allows them to experience how someone else thinks and acts.
• Promote their imagination. Imagination gives life excitement. It keeps things interesting. Everyone needs imagination, even our top scientists!

Yes, learning drama will give these benefits to your child and the best part of it all is that it will stay with them long into adulthood.