It's mental health awareness week, so we thought now would be a great time to reflect on a project that was centred around improving children’s wellbeing and helping them explore their emotions.
Earlier this year we worked in partnership with multi-award winning, theatre, drama and creative learning charity, Mortal Fools to create an interactive children’s wellbeing game.
Together we created Melva Mapletree and the Quest for Barnabas Boggle, a storytelling game that helps children aged 7-11 explore and understand their emotions.
Illustrated by our very own Erin McDougle, the game centres around the story of a 11-year-old girl, Melva Mapletree. Melva’s struggles with anxiety, trauma and bereavement (or ‘worrits’ as she calls them), keep her from doing exciting new things and sometimes even prevent her from leaving her home.
Game players must help reunite Melva with her best friend Barnabas Boggle, whilst exploring worrits and how to overcome them.
We worked hard behind the scenes to build the game, which launched back in March, and we’re thrilled to learn that to date, over 500 people have taken part!
The overall aim of the game is to use theatre, storytelling, and practical activities to:
- Help young people better understand their worries and anxiety
- Provide young people, their teachers, and their families with child-friendly, accessible language to talk about and deal with mental health and wellbeing
- Address mental health stigma by encouraging open conversations between young people, their peers, and the adults in their lives about worries and anxieties
We really hope that Melva Mapletree continues to help youngsters understand their emotions, especially after an incredibly turbulent year!
Melva Mapletree is available to both families and teachers – more information can be found here.
