We have had a fantastic response to our Drug of Art Crowdfunder and are close to reaching our first target of £50,000. As we go for the final push, I wanted to share this lovely true story told to me by one of our team members which I think perfectly illustrates the power of creativity and its profound impact on emotional wellbeing and educational attainment.
‘A boy aged 9, in year 6, was under a lot of pressure by his parents to do well in his exams so he could get into a good secondary school. He had a nanny, who was asked to encourage and support him to do his homework and to do extra revision. He didn’t want to do this and the pressure was getting to him, resulting in a lot of tantrums and a refusal to focus. He was easily distracted and was getting angry at being told to do extra homework.
The nanny, who was an artist studying at university, recognised this feeling of frustration and knew that the boy had enjoyed drawing with her. The nanny spoke to the parents, and they accepted that while the homework was important, forcing this time without any time for expression or an outlet wasn’t allowing the boy to relax and enjoy himself. They agreed that one evening a week could be given over solely for art club with the nanny.
The parents bought some polymer clay and the boy started creating his own characters – the boy and the nanny created together and they were able to bond over their ideas and use their imagination to explore what they could do next with the characters. As the weeks unfolded, they made multiple stock-motion films, an activity that the boy had been wanting to do for a long time, and also split their characters into two teams for a football match on the table. The boy’s confidence grew and he was able to form a closer relationship with his nanny. When he was then asked to do homework on other days, the tantrums decreased and his ability to focus on a task had improved significantly. The nanny noticed a huge shift in how they interacted and the excitement that came from him. It was the first time she had felt a sense of achievement from the boy and that he had a vibrant imagination that was waiting to be embraced.’
To find out more about the Drug of Art and contribute to our Crowdfunder, CLICK HERE