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Starting School for the first time is a big milestone in a child’s life. Kindergarten is the beginning of a learning path that will support and guide your child’s future for the rest of their lives. But a common concern that a lot of parents have here in Australia is whether or not their child is ready to start Kindergarten, and how they can help their kids develop the necessary social skills and emotional strength for such an important step in their lives.

A tried and true way of developing great social skills and healthy emotional regulation is through role play and acting within a group.  Multiple studies have shown the key role that drama classes play in building social skills during childhood. In fact, researchers point out that drama classes have even been associated with increasing social skills in autistic children. According to the Indiana University of Bloomington, “[t]heatre activities can be used to teach emotion recognition and expression, non-verbal behaviors and gestures, listening skills, eye contact, conversation skills, strategies to handle social situations, and critical social skills.” These are important benefits for a child, but they go far beyond that.

Drama classes are known for exercising teamwork, as children must collaborate with each other to make their mime or play successful. They also exercise self-confidence by learning how to present themselves, express themselves and speak in front of a group of people. Interacting in drama games and plays challenges a child to use their imagination and to think creatively. Other skills that drama classes can teach children are flexibility and problem solving, as the child develops the important acting skill of improvisation.

An unknown fact to many however, is that these social skills can be developed in children through drama classes way before kindergarten. Kids can start their drama classes at as early as three years of age. Starting a child in drama classes from such a young age, gives them the chance to develop their social skills so they can be well prepared for such an important stage of their lives.

At Hive, we offer drama classes for Pre-School children right through to High-School age teens. Our Drama Bees program caters to the needs of children from 3 to 8 years old and our Stage Bees Program was specifically designed for kids from ages 8 to 12 and 12 – 16 years old.  We also offer drama classes through Bee School, a complete Pre-School arts education program that includes art, dance, language and music classes for kids age 3-6 years old.

Give us a call today to schedule a tour.