Touch Pro International Coalition

Touch is the first of the five primary senses to develop, and is essential for the development and maintenance of health, mental stability and  well being.

However,  for far too long public discourse about touch has been marginalized and maligned. With an increasing awareness of the critical importance of positive touch by academic research, now is the time to bring the subject of physical human connection out of the shadows and build a foundation that will shift cultural attitudes.  Touch cannot be any longer the ignored sense and a subject of sensation seeking media. Touch is our - mammals – human heritage. It needs to be acknowledged and respected. The price for diminishing its value is paid by the entire society and  the most affected are children.

 We at Child Connection Trust  look seriously  into the topic of touch in education. From next year we will launch a Global Bullying Prevention  Educational Campaign targeting the  “No Touching”  at schools policy because we believe it is dangerous. We at Child Connection are very satisfied to be part of Touch Pro International Coalition.

Graduation from Mana Wahine Ceremony .

This  20 weeks course organised by Manawahine Taumatatanga Trust makes foundation,  encourages and prepares Maori woman  to leadership role in the community  to strengthen their role in their families . I had a privilege to participate in this course, to develop friendships , to share my stories with fellow Maori woman ,to unite with their worries , to celebrate their victories.

Thank you Maori community for giving me this opportunity

Tiny Tots in Opunake

It was a pleasure to present our Tiny Tots programme for ELC’s in Opunake Kindergarten .    It was our first opportunity to introduce our programme in the Taranaki region. Parents and children were very receptive and enjoyed the games. Teachers will now have more games to play with children, for the benefit of all them . 

The photo shows picture of teachers attending the workshop

Hundreds of children in Poland benefit from Peer Massages



After asking a number of people on LinkedIn that are connected with education a simple question - if they like the idea of Peer Massages to be included into the school curriculum, I received an unexpected number of positive replies. Yes, parents and educators want children to be taught Empathy and Compassion  using Peer Massage process.  The only concern was – how can we make it happen

 

Maori Values

Experts in education  agree that  increasing the numbers of Maori students succeed in education requires  connecting them with each other within the school, and to help them form relationships with their own iwi and extended whanau groups outside of the school. 

Manawahine TaumatatangaTrust with its programmes for wahine, tane and whanau  at risk (woman, men and communities) is one such  organisation helping to keep Maori identity, values and principals alive .     http://www.manawahine.net

Tenderness Inspire Tamariki Oriori (TITO)

Tito is a 4 week course to compose a song , lullaby or invent a story for your child, grandchild, inner-child, in order to create a message/mantra for the future generations. The whole process is designed by Iris Haeusermann Davis and Ojasvin Kingi Davis and is based on Maori culture and tradition .  Whanau Marama Parenting Programme donated premises for our Monday evening learning.

Pure poetry and spiritual bliss – thank you to the creator of the program Iris and Ojasvin, and sponsors  Elizabeth Cameron and Steve Taylor  to make it happen

I ruia mai I rangiatea Matariki, Tamariki......

The star seeds within the cosmos
From the Pleiades come the children of God.....

www.grandmothershealinghaka.com

The result of TITO workshop, and Eva's Orior for Granddaughter Hanisia

The woman who changed her brain - Barbara Arrowsmith-Young lecture

A packed theater at AUT, with an audience from all over NZ, listened to Barbara speak about her book and her work with the Arrowsmith Program, a cognitive exercise programme for children with learning disabilities that is in more than 40 schools worldwide, including  Australia and one in New Zealand.

The Arrowsmith Program is founded on neuroscience research and over 30 years of experience demonstrating that it is possible for students to strengthen the weak cognitive capacities underlying their learning dysfunctions through a program of specific cognitive exercises.
More about the programme at :  http://www.arrowsmithschool.org/index.html

Barbara agreed with Eva that sensory stimulation – building secure attachment programmes in early childhood is very helpful and can  decrease and  prevent cognitive learning difficulties in school.

Women in Leadership Action

In the middle of July there was an inspiring meeting organized by the Auckland University as part of the "Leadership in Action" series.   The organization problems that we face in the Trust are not unique to us, so it was inspiring to listen how other women have faced and solved these same problems.  Read more about this event

First Press Release

The idea of introducing touch into the education system as a valid modality alongside academic topics is a beautiful idea that has been spreading around the globe since the mid nineties, but still needs more media attention.

This is our first press release, published yesterday,  about Children Massaging Children (CMC)  in order to further this idea. 

 You can view it at  http://www.einnews.com/247pr/350575

Any comments are welcomed.