Melton’s popular Busy Feet program is on the lookout for volunteer dance teachers to guide children with intellectual and physical disabilities aged 6-16 through dance, music and movement sessions.

Busy Feet Melton’s mission is to “create a safe and friendly environment where kids with disabilities can come to have fun, socialise, enjoy movement to music and dance their busy little feet off.” These sessions offer these children an opportunity to stay active whilst being respected for their own individual abilities.

The sessions run every Thursday from 4.30 – 5.30pm in Melton.

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a Busy Feet Melton volunteer, please get in contact with Annette.

P: 0401 031 917

E: busyfeetmelton@hotmail.com

You may know that Neighbourhood Houses offer a range of programs for children but are you aware of the many benefits associated with your child participating in a program at their local Neighbourhood House? Here are the top 5 reasons why you should consider enrolling your child in a Neighbourhood House Program for Term One.

1. Stay Local: We understand how busy being a parent can be, and the constant juggle that is required when your child participates in extra-curricular activities. Neighbourhood Houses are located within your local area, which means minimal travel time getting your kids to and from activities. Plus you have the added benefit of being able to zip home or off to the supermarket during class time.
2. Non-Traditional Activities: If you have a child that wants to do something after school but isn’t really into structured sports then we may have the perfect alternative. We know not all kids enjoy competitive activities, and because of this we like to think outside the box when it comes to developing our kids programs. We offer classes that aren’t always that easy to come by at affordable prices including: drama, art, sewing and yoga, making Neighbourhood Houses a great space for children to explore new activities and hopefully find something they love.
3. Skill Development: Our classes are a whole lot of fun, but more importantly, they help to develop your child’s skill set. Take our Cooking 4 Kids class for example, not only are children learning the very handy life-long skill of cooking, they are also enhancing their fine motor skills through peeling vegetables and cutting food, improving their reading and procedural skills by following recipes, increasing their math ability through measuring ingredients and working out cooking times, boosting their social skills by working with others and increasing their self-esteem and confidence through the successful creation of a meal.
4. Friendships: For children, making friends is a vital part of growing up and an essential part of their social and emotional development. However navigating friendships isn’t always easy. Our programs provide amazing opportunities for children to connect over common interests. And because our class sizes are kept small this helps to offer a welcoming, inclusive and supportive experience for children who may be feeling shy or anxious.
5. Connections: Having a child engaged with a Neighbourhood House is a great way for you as a family to connect to your wider community. Neighbourhood Houses are “in the know” when it comes to what’s happening locally and we regularly host special activities and free events throughout the year that the whole family can enjoy such as Active April, Harmony Day, Neighbourhood House Week, Adult Learners Week and Community Safety Month. So when you’re dropping off or picking up your child check out our noticeboards and brochure displays to see what else you can get involved in.      

Bookings are now open for Term One classes so make sure you explore the range of activities on offer through Melton Learning.  Programs are available at:

• Taylors Hill Neighbourhood House
• Stevenson House (Caroline Springs)
• Hillside Community Centre
• Frontier Park Pavilion, Aintree

“The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself.” — Alan Alda 

Creativity is one of the most in demand skills of the 21^st Century, yet it is one that many adults struggle to demonstrate.

What a gift it would be for you to raise your children to be their most creative selves.

Sound good, but not sure how to go about it. Read on to find some great tips to help your kids build their creative muscles.

Here are 10 simple ways to raise creative children:

1. Remember that mistakes are good. Stanford researcher and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck, shares that children who are afraid of failure are less likely to think creatively. If your child acts disappointed at making a mistake, try saying something like, “what can we do to change this outcome?” or “how could you do this again?” Just change the perception, by looking at mistakes as opportunities for growth rather than failures.

2. Embrace a good mess.Relax and don’t worry about a mess, most things can be cleaned up and creativity often results in a messy space. When kids are in their creative element, messes can quickly develop. The next time your child asks to paint or wants to get everything out of a supply bin, make room for it (and/or take it outside). You might have to contend with a mess, but the creative benefits will surpass this temporary inconvenience.

3. Be mindful when you praise. Don’t praise just for the sake of it, make it meaningful. Too much praise can hinder a child’s independent thinking. The problem with praise is that it can strip a child from searching for his own internal motivations. This isn’t to say that all praise is bad, but next time you’re tempted to praise, try saying something objective such as, “I see that you used a lot of different colors in that painting,” or “You’re working really hard on that math problem.”

4. Be open-minded. Offer your child choices as a way to encourage independent thinking. You may not be in the habit of eating breakfast at dinner, but if your child says she wants to eat cereal for dinner, make allowances for that. If she wants to help in the kitchen, try turning your kitchen into a science lab and give her open access to a handful of ingredients and kitchen tools.

5. Model creativity. Show your children what creativity looks like, or better yet, let them show you and allow you to unleash your inner child. What’s your creative outlet? Where do you enjoy putting your creative energy? Cooking, singing, gardening, drawing, dancing? Children who watch their parents engage in creative activities are more likely to embrace these activities themselves.

6. Give them room. This may seem to contradict #5 a bit, but it’s important to remember that this is all about striking a balance. You don’t want your child to feel like they are being constantly watched, this may make her less likely to take risks, which would diminish her creativity. If you encourage autonomy, you’ll see your child’s imagination bloom. The next time your child is engaged in quiet play, drawing, tinkering, or writing, refrain from jumping in with a comment like “what are you drawing?” This will only pull her out of the zone. Instead, take the time and do something special for yourself.

7. Set aside creativity time. This can be hard, especially for working parents, but children need unstructured time to imagine, build, experiment, and explore. It could be half an hour after dinner, time in bed before reading a book, or an hour of simply unstructured time. Look at the family schedule and make sure that there’s time set aside for this.

8. The basics are fine. Toys and social networking are fun, and definitely have their place, but they don’t build creative thinkers the way sticks, tubes, office supplies, sand, circuits, magnets, and water do. Take a quick inventory of where your kids spend their free time. What do they use the most? Can you swap a close-ended object or activity with an open-ended one?

9. Reduce screen time. It can be hard for some families to remove screen time altogether, but we can all make an effort to spend less time in front of the screen. Time spent watching videos or cartoons could be spent drawing, making a robot, or setting up an obstacle course. What could you do to reduce screen time?

10. What other ideas do you have for raising creative kids? There are so many ways to encourage a child’s creativity, and I’d love to hear what works for YOU! What would you add as the #10 way to raise creative kids