F is for Freestyler
Be Unique, Be You!
Leading nicely on from our last blog about diversity, being a freestyler is about celebrating those differences, and learning to be our true selves. It is only by giving our children the opportunities to express who they really are that we can help enable them to follow their passions, and put their stamp on the world. We must teach them to think their own thoughts, and do what feels right for them in their hearts while at the same time having an appreciation that others have that same right too. Not always easy when we are constantly being bombarded with messages about what it means to be a girl, a boy, good, bad, clever, worthy, but here’s five of our favourite brands helping to build independent children who have the confidence to be themselves! To be unique!
Montessori
If you haven’t heard of Montessori before, it’s a child-centered approach to education which has been implemented across the globe for over 100 years. It was created by Dr Maria Montessori, who specially designed the resources to foster independence and a love for learning from an early age. Combining a philosophy of freedom and self-development, it is based on the ethos that children learn best by doing and that happy self-motivated learners form positive images of themselves as confident, successful people. In short, a Montessori classroom is a place where children can be themselves, where they can grow up knowing that they belong and that they are special, no matter who they are!
“The principal goal of education in schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.”
Jean Piaget
The Land, Wrexham
Upside down boats, piles of pallets, a tonne of tyres, wheelbarrows, ladders, fishing nets, ropes, punch bags and even the various stray hammer!!! Sound like a scrap yard? Well it’s actually not. It is in fact a one acre adventure playground based on the Plas Madoc estate near Wrexham in Wales providing children and young people aged between five and 16 years a varied environment consisting of waste and recyclable materials, in which they can experience risk and challenge, building their confidence and promoting participation. Dubbed ‘a space full of possibilities’, where there are no boundaries or rules, The Land is shaped by the children who come to play, and it is through creating that they are free to express themselves. Manager, Claire Giffiths, wanted to compensate for the lack of play and ‘adult-free’ experiences. She wanted something kids could make up and break up and rediscover every visit. A place where ‘children can just be children, where they can try and fail without being judged or assessed.’ And we think that is absolutely brilliant because that is how we learn to fly and have the confidence to be ourselves!
The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams
David Walliams much loved debut novel follows the story of 12-year-old Dennis, a talented footballer who is missing his departed mother. He is inspired by a yellow dress he sees on the cover of Vogue magazine which is identical to one she had owned, and with the encouragement of Lisa, the coolest and prettiest girl in school, he creates a whole new persona in the form ‘Denise’ in order to feel closer to his mother. The book charts the reactions of his friends and family, a fantastically rich array of characters. It is a wonderfully charming and funny tale of tolerance and understanding with an inherent message that it’s ok to be different!
Rabbel Magazine
From a very young age our girls (and boys) are drip fed certain messages which all add up to make them feel like they need to fit in to certain pre-prescribed boxes in order to ‘belong’. For girls that often means learning that pretty plus polite equals increased value. Historically, words like defiant, bold, brave and fierce have not been associated with females and if they have it has not necessarily been positively. However the narrative is slowly changing and here to help is Rabbel magazine. Aimed at pre-teens, the bi-yearly publication throws the shoulds and expectations out with the bath water, bringing girls voices together to courageously shout down those long held stereotypes, and help inspire the younger female generation to fearlessly unleash their true inner spirits. In their own words - ‘girls can be adventurous, strong, brilliant, imperfect, and courageous. It’s time we celebrate what it means to be a whole, unique, valuable person, and carve out a few moments to reclaim girlhood on our own terms.’ www.rabbelmag.com
Be You and Own It Colouring Book
This is actually an American colouring book but it can be purchased via Amazon so we couldn’t resist including it, after all, we are all about colouring and creative freedom! Featuring 26 designs and over 100 pages this brilliant colouring book encourages kids to be themselves and be proud of it. Creative, kind, fearless, silly, adventurous, responsible, a thinker, different...it’s great for helping kids to get to know the qualities which not only they possess but others too, owning them and celebrating those! https://www.amazon.com/Be-You-Own-coloring-their/dp/0692955259