Last week, a group of boys from the PLASP 10+ Club participated in their school’s end of year black light show. The performance, showcasing a series of dance routines, finished with a musical puppet show from the 10+ Club that had the audience-filled gymnasium cheering and clapping along.

The 10+ Club spent three months preparing for the show, participating in every step of the process from brainstorming, writing the script, creating the choreography and designing their puppets.

“They knew right from the beginning that they were going to have to commit themselves 100%,” said Tanya Reid, PLASP Program Director for the 10+ Club. “I wanted them to realize what they were capable of if they put hard work into something – even if it’s not part of their curriculum. The original plan was to do a dance routine but then the idea of puppets came up and we went with it. We didn’t know anything about making puppets or working with them - we had to teach ourselves as we went.”

A former drama student in high school and a former member of the Hamilton Actors Guild, Tanya used her interest in the arts to do the initial research and to guide the boys. “It was amazing to watch them come together as a team,” she said, sitting in the PLASP program room with the boys from the 10+ Club. “The puppets heads were separate from the body. When they realized how much work was involved with synchronizing the head with the body and also to the music and the choreography, that was when they really started to concentrate. There were so many times when they were really struggling and they thought they couldn’t do it, but they kept trying. At the first group dress rehearsal, something clicked and they saw for themselves how their hard work had paid off. It was a great ‘Aha’ moment.”

When asked how they felt before the show, the boys grew contemplative.

“I was really nervous because you don’t know how you’re going to do in the performance,” said 11-year old Kyle. “Your mind could go blank, you get really anxious, and you’re thinking, “Come on, let’s just do the performance and get it over with.””

The 10+ Club, PLASP’s program for children between the ages of 10 and 12, encourages participants to plan their own activities that are challenging, fun, and age-appropriate. Collaborating with program staff, the children learn life skills such as time management and planning, and how to work together as a team.

“You’re a small part of something that’s bigger and you know that if you mess up, everything can fall apart,” 11-year old Kiran said. “And that’s a really big deal because then it’s not just your hard work but your team’s hard work too.”

But the boys didn’t have to worry – their segment went off without mishap. “Our hard work paid off in the end because our performance was awesome,” 11-year old Ke’Andre said.

“I’m proud of them,” Tanya added, looking around at the group of boys. “I knew it would be good, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this good.”

Do you have a child participating in a PLASP 10+ program in any of our schools? What life skills have they learned that you’ve observed them using when they’re at home with you? We’d love to know!