COVID-19 has stopped a lot of events from going forward. But it has not stopped our foster care teams from getting creative.
In the July school holidays, staff from the Child Youth and Family and the Living Arts program in South Australia hosted a ‘virtual picnic’ via Zoom to connect with young people in care, their carers and staff.
The Living Arts team created fun activities for everyone to get involved in using things they could find at home. Some attendees chose to make ‘friendship flowers’ which had the name of someone they care about in the centre of the flower, and qualities they appreciate in that person written on the petals.
Click here for a guide on how to make the flowers!
One of the children we support and their Child & Family Practitioner simultaneously began creating flowers for each other, without any prompting which was a beautiful moment for all to see. It really highlighted the importance of relationships between our staff and the foster children.
Other attendees chose to participate in a ‘Gratitude Scavenger Hunt’. They were given 10 minutes to gather as many items as they could from their homes that promoted a sense of gratitude, happiness and paying it forward. The attendees were then given the opportunity to share all of these items on camera with one another and reflect on the things they are grateful for, even during challenging times.
This was a lovely, relaxed afternoon that provided a great opportunity to virtually connect, ‘share’ a picnic meal, and reflect upon the things and people they care about and are grateful for.
During the picnic a special video that our South Australia Child Youth and Family staff created for carers was also premiered. “Count On Me” is a playful music video developed by staff from Living Arts, the South Australia Clinical team, and placement support staff to remind carers that they can count on Life Without Barriers for support during these difficult times. Staff contributed by sending in videos of them singing along, artwork and animation, and by contributing to our own version of the song originally by Bruno Mars.
Overall it was a fantastic day that everyone enjoyed and felt connected by - even when apart.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
