What Growing Stars covers

Growing Stars is a workshop developed to help children between 6 - 12 years with learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia or dysgraphia, as well as their parents, understand and manage the emotional impact of living with this learning difficulty. Having a learning difficulty usually results in heightened anxiety and worry about learning, frustration and low self esteem overall.

How Growing Stars helps children and parents.

The Growing Stars workshop works with children to help them

• recognise these feelings of anxiety and worry
• recognise there are strengths that come with thinking differently
• recognise they are not alone with their learning difference
• understand strategies they can use to help lessen the impact of anxiety
• understand strategies they can use for feelings of frustration
• know who they can talk to and help them with ways to do that
• parents attend a workshop to understand what their children will learn and how they can continue to support them after the workshop.

What you need to know

• The workshops are limited to 10 children per workshop.
• You do not need a formal assessment of a specific learning difficulty for the children.
• They are run in the school holidays and are held over two consecutive mornings from 8.45am to 12.30pm.
• The workshop costs $50 per child and is for children aged 6 to 12 years with a learning difficulty.
• Parents need to be on our mailing list
• Parents are required to attend a parent information evening
• Each workshop is run by two trained facilitators and with 2 -3 trained helpers.
• All personnel are police vetted.
• The Learning Differences Aotearoa Trust have a Vulnerable Children Policy and Privacy and Confidentiality Policy.

What activities are included?

Growing Stars uses a variety of fun and colourful activities, that are learning difficulty friendly. These activities help the children start to identify feelings and what strategies will help them.

Activities include:

• mosaic making,
• salt jars,
• blowing bubbles,
• listening to a stories,
• making their own box to store what they make,
• making a strengths shield,
• playing Sleeping Lions
• making a poster about them, and
• much more.