Recovery, Renewal, Resilience

In Ecuador, efforts have been made to engage children with music to help support their mental health during lockdown and periods where they are away from school. Consider the pressures on children to catch-up with purely academic subjects in light of school closures and online learning, and how to promote mental health and wellbeing through the arts. Consider:

• Inviting children to send in videos of themselves singing or dancing to songs that make them feel happy or empowered, and encourage family members to join in
• Editing the videos to create short films or creating virtual choirs if the same song is assigned/chosen
• How music and the arts can help children express their anxieties and the benefits of this for their mental health and wellbeing

Establishing new ways to include music and song safely throughout the school day and how this can also contribute to teachers' continuing Professional Development and their own mental health