Woodland Warriors
Woodland Warriors is an outdoor company, that helps children of different age groups and from different backgrounds to learn basic life skills, through outdoor play. Sessions take place at the Memorial Park in Wickford, Essex and we have children aged from 4 to 16 attend.
The outdoor setting helps to relax the mind, body and soul, enhancing endorphins within the brain to relax and relieve anxiety and stress. This provides a foundation, from which to learn and enhance life skills such as: self-confidence, making and maintaining friendships, self-regulation of emotions and gives an appreciation for the natural world. The parents who come along have also expressed how they find the time outdoors, mixing with other parents who have similar life experiences, to be very therapeutic and have likened it to an outdoor parent support group.
Throughout the sessions, children will be able to participate in a wide range of activities from balancing and using core muscles on the tree swing, to climbing rope ladders and trees. They will develop problem solving skills, learn about the creatures and their interesting lives in the undergrowth and above the canopy, and there will be opportunities to make tools, learn how to safely make fire, and identify animal tracks. No two sessions are the same, with different activities each week.
Woodland Warriors takes place on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 10am and 11.30am.
Click here to book a placeMindful Crafts
Join Emma and Gwen of Gweniems in their beautiful garden workshop to enjoy relaxing crafting sessions, where your children and young people can create stunning items, chill out and chat with new friends.
Age Range 7-16.
Venue: Rose Court, Russell Gardens, Wickford. Take a look at their Facebook page to see the workshop and the amazing items they help you make. www.facebook.com/gweniems
Create a beautifully decorated item each week, such as a mandala painted terracotta pot, a pen holder, keyring or coaster.
You do not need a diagnosis of anxiety or autism/adhd/dyslexia/dyspraxia etc. to attend this group. If you feel it will benefit your child/teen’s mental health and help them to make friends, then please book them in. We keep the sessions small, with a max of 5 children/teens, plus parent/carers.
We will provide biscuits and water and tea, or coffee for adults. A parent/carer is expected to stay with the child/teen during the session.
The cost for each session is £6.50 per child, which includes all the materials. Some sessions are just for 1 week and some run over a number of weeks, if the craft project is more complex. A 1 week session is £6.50, 3 weeks is £20. etc. We are able to offer the sessions at this reduced rate as the costs are subsidised by MyOTAS, using grants received from the Co-Op, Local Giving (Magic Little Grants) and Wickford Community Singing Group.
Yoga
We are delighted to offer 4 x FREE 1:1 yoga classes in conjunction with Essex Short Breaks, specifically designed for socially anxious young people. These sessions are funded by Essex Short Breaks. Please email paula@myotas.org if you are interested in booking these sessions and we can provide you with further information.
Classes are held in Wickford of an evening. Please contact us if you would be interested in attending with your young person and we can discuss how the sessions work and find a suitable date and time to run the session. We ask that a parent attends with the young person and can join in on the session if they would like. Many parents find it helpful for their own stressful lives and it enables them to continue to practice yoga with their child once these sessions are over.
Age Range: 11 to 18
About Yoga and mindfulness
Yoga includes practices of movement, breathing and relaxation combined with sound, rhythm and sensory integration techniques. Mindfulness is having awareness of what’s happening internally and around you in the moment. It is the practice of being receptive to your emotions, thoughts, behaviours and physical state which can help to process events from your external environment. When distraction takes over, regulating the state of mind becomes more of a challenge. Children can use mindfulness techniques to learn how to regulate their breathing patterns, balance energy levels, remain calm, as well as relieve any physical and emotional tension, giving a greater sense of control over the mind and body.
The benefits of Yoga and Mindfulness include:
- Improving motor control and motor planning skills
- Developing physical strength, muscle tone and balance
- Promoting flexibility and correcting postural misalignment
- Increasing self-awareness
- Establishing a calm mental state
- Improving concentration
- Developing the ability to relax
- Releasing tension