Growing Taller helps children to regulate ‘big feelings’

Squishy brain stress balls, puppets, belly breathing wheat bags, and oversized sunglasses are just some of the interactive resources tamariki are introduced to when they attend our Growing Taller programme.

Activity-based and designed to support tamariki with social emotional self-regulation and personal understanding, our Growing Taller group setting aims to provide a safe, healing, and meaningful learning experience for everyone involved.

Encompassing an educative and therapeutic approach, whilst maintaining a sense of fun and ease, enthusiastic chats and giggles fill the room. Tamariki are encouraged to share their experiences, practise new skills, and learn from one another, while group discussions and “teachable moments” (either from peers or facilitators) are an integral part of the programme.

At times, more serious conversations take place and these can be pivotal moments for tamariki, where personal development truly takes place.

Much emphasis is placed on interactive learning. Children participate in practical activities and role play various user-friendly tools to consolidate learning and then apply to real-life situations.

Tamariki often express their enjoyment of the activity-based approach with self-esteem, gratitude, resilience, personal goals, self-perceptions, and self-talk being the primary focus. There is a particular emphasis on how to identify, express, and manage feelings and emotions.

Facilitators enjoy nothing more than hearing how tools learnt during the programme are applied to real-life situations, or how whānau connections are stronger because those communication pathways have been ignited. Low facilitator to tamariki ratios means that Growing Taller can be uniquely tailored to the ages, stages and needs of the group. Strong connections are easily formed between peers, whānau, and facilitators.

“Growing Taller has helped me with all the emotions”

“I really liked it here”, “I can see real life results”, “Growing Taller is great for active minds to learn”, “It has helped me to control my anger”, “I love Growing Taller. I liked the activities”, “I enjoyed making friends”, are just some of the positive evaluative comments gratefully received by Growing Taller facilitators. Having the unique opportunity to incorporate bizarre learning resources like squishy brain stress balls, oversized sunglasses, and belly breathing wheat bags went down a treat!

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