Viewing blogs by Emily Croucher
A Wrap on Christmas Unwrapped
Emily Croucher | 23rd December 2022
Last week we finished delivering the Christmas Unwrapped workshop for Year 6. The workshop is an opportunity to explore the story of the nativity, which is right at the centre of the Christmas celebrations. I know you’re thinking it should be fairly straightforward – but not always! This workshop is full of surprises!One of the most fun parts of t
Read moreEaster Workshops
Emily Croucher | 8th May 2022
At the beginning of April, after being at Phase nearly 3 years, I finally was able to deliver the Easter workshops for the very first time. Lockdown and covid restrictions have interfered with many things over the past few years, but it felt strange to remember how much of my time at Phase has been affected by it. The previous 2 years, Easter has f
Read moreCoping with Change
Emily Croucher | 11th March 2022
If there's one thing that we've all had to deal with over the past couple of years, it's change. We've all had to cope with some pretty big changes to the way that we work, the way that we socialise, and the way that we live our life. We've also had to deal with constant small changes, and the uncertainty that things might change again at any momen
Read moreNational Youth Ministry Weekend
Emily Croucher | 19th November 2021
Last weekend I went to the National Youth Ministy Conference, which is an event Youthscape run for those who work with young people. It was a great opportunity to gather as people who love Jesus and love young people, to be challenged and inspired. The theme of the week was first love, and was a constant reminder that everything we do has to come f
Read moreContinuing to Parent in Lockdown
Emily Croucher | 3rd February 2021
This article was featured this in Nub NewsAt Phase, we spend a lot of our time time helping young people to building resilience and good wellbeing, and particularly at the moment supporting them in all the ways that they have been affected by this pandemic. But we are also aware that for parents this has been an exhausting and incredibly demanding
Read moreA little anxious?
Emily Croucher | 23rd October 2020
Last week, we visited a local primary school and delivered a workshop all about anxiety, and specifically how to manage it. One of the key things about anxiety is that it affects us physiologically AND psychologically. It affects our body and it affects our thoughts. And so we have to manage it in both those ways.When we feel anxious, we experience
Read moreFood support in Covid-19
Emily Croucher | 29th September 2020
Do you know what food provision projects are running in Hitchin & Letchworth? I didn’t – but after a Forum prayer meeting where we were looking at Food Poverty earlier this month, I decided to do some investigating…Numerous people have been impacted by the Covid-19 Pandemic, with resultant job uncertainty or redundancies, which has meant that m
Read moreThe joy of giving.
Emily Croucher | 24th July 2020
I often wish I had mastered the art of gift buying. You know those people who somehow always know EXACTLY what to buy. Who have the amazing ability to hold on to a detail, mentioned briefly in a conversation 6 months ago, a find a perfect gift for everyone, every time.Giving is one of the 5 ways to wellbeing, and has been shown to have incredible p
Read moreStop and smell the roses
Emily Croucher | 15th July 2020
When lockdown was first announced I spent a couple of weeks in my flat alone, before deciding to go back to my parents' in Bournemouth. I have recently returned to my flat in Hitchin and am accutely aware of how much has changed since I left three months ago. Generally I enjoy keeping myself busy and most of the time choose the company of others ov
Read moreWhat are you doing?
Emily Croucher | 10th June 2020
A lot of change has happened over the past few months. With schools closed and social distance measures in place, much of our usual work and programmes are unable to run as normal. Just like everyone else, we have had to adapt and change the way that we are doing things. We are still as passionate as ever about building resilience and good wellbein
Read moreGrow Workshops
Emily Croucher | 27th March 2020
Guest blog from Olivia Truscott, a sixth form volunteer for Grow. Over the past term, we have started a year 5 workshop series called Grow, looking at building resilience, understanding emotions, and managing change and disappointment. We have had an amazing team of 6th form students from local Hitchin schools volunteering to help us run these work
Read moreRandom Acts of Kindness
Emily Croucher | 14th February 2020
Have you ever carried out a random act of kindness? Or been on the receiving end of one? There are some amazing stories I have heard of incredible acts of generosity. A friend recently told me of a time when he was making the huge and difficult choice to quit his job and pursue something completely different. He was unsure and doubting his decision
Read moreManaging emotions
Emily Croucher | 20th January 2020
As part of our Grow workshop, we have been looking at positive ways for children to manage their emotions and have encouraged them to reflect on strategies that they would find helpful when they feel angry, sad or worried. This page will explain some of the strategies used, as well as other examples that may work better at home. Many parents will a
Read moreThe Heart of Christmas
Emily Croucher | 13th December 2019
Today is the end of two weeks of our Christmas Unwrapped workshop, where we are able to share the story of the first Christmas with 15 groups of Year 6 students in Hitchin. One of the central messages of the workshop is how we have wrapped the message of Christmas up in so many other things – parties, food, presents, music, decorations. All wonderf
Read moreSomething new
Emily Croucher | 1st November 2019
Hello, I'm Emily and I am new! Well, not brand new. I joined the Phase team at the end of August as the Early Intervention Lead, but there are still lots of things I am getting my head around. It’s been a crazy few weeks, but I have felt so welcomed and it is a blessing to be working with such an amazing team. One of the biggest things I noticed in
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