On November 5th I went on another HeArts trip. This trip was a little different from the other ones that I have attended, as this time we went to Gertrude's hospital to work with the kids there. I was a little apprehensive before we set out, as I knew that the kids would be a lot smaller than the ones we'd been working with, that they may never have really done art before, and that they'd be difficult to interact with. We loaded up the bus with two huge boxes full of supplies and when we arrived traipsed down to a little playground at the bottom of the hospital. Next to the playground were two small rooms where we decided to do painting and mosaics. Outside we set up for bracelet and mask making, which I thought were quite good ideas for activities.
I decided to spend my time outside working on bracelets with the kids, as I've never done this activity before. I must admit that even I was struggling with the technique at first, but luckily I soon got the hand of it. At first there weren't many children with us, but as time went by we became one of the most popular groups. First the kids had to choose three colors of string, and then had to loop them around each other (making a 4 shape) and tie knots. I worked mostly with two young kids, a boy and a girl. They were both 10 years old, and the girl was a resident at the hospital (she had a drip in her hand) and the boy was visiting (as his mother worked at Gertrude's). It was surprisingly difficult to explain to them how to make the bracelets, as they had trouble understanding which way to loop the string round, and how to pull the knots up and tighten them. However, I sat with them both for quite a while, and by the end they were successfully making the bracelets. They both finished two bracelets in the time we were there, and left with them on both wrists. I think that this was a really beneficial activity for me personally, as I effectively developed my communication and interpersonal skills through the explanations that I had to give. Working with children who aren't as healthy as those I have been interacting with before really does offer up new challenges and perspectives.
I had a lovely time making bracelets with the kids, but I feel that I need to work on getting them to open up to me more. They were very quiet at the beginning, and though they did grow more talkative as time went by, they were still pretty closed off to me. I think that this trip was great because it's different from any service I've ever done before - I've never had the opportunity to work with hospitalised kids, and it resounded with me. Next trip I think that we should bring along more supplies and maybe have a few more activities planned though. Maybe asking the kids themselves what they'd like would be helpful.
[Pictures coming soon!]
where them pictures at natasha
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