This weekend (24th Feb and 25th Feb 2018) I attended the Shropshire Kids Festival with Play to Thrive, but this time it was held indoors in The Telford International Centre – the first ever one indoors so it was a bit of a learning curve for everyone. It was a completely different vibe to the outdoor one in May, but still a wonderful experience.

As last time, we took along our sand trays and symbols, as well as bubbles, colouring, and therapeutic stories. We also offered an activity to create ‘Kindness Snappers’. It was an incredibly busy weekend with the sand trays nearly permanently in use by many different people ranging from young children who couldn’t yet walk, up to grandparents who were still creating worlds after their grandchildren had moved on to a different activity! The ‘Kindness Snappers’ were very popular with children as well as parents, many of whom could remember how to make them from their own childhood. There were also some beautiful moments where families were sharing the therapeutic story books and talking about how they show different emotions.

We spoke with many different families, some of whom bravely shared their stories with us about the struggles they and their children are having. We also spoke with teachers, foster workers, policemen, GPs and social workers, spreading awareness of the Play Therapy services we are able to offer across the county, and making some important connections.

Thanks to the Shropshire Kids Festival for the header photo.