Affirmation Station in Johannesburg
Our amazing Principal of one of our Johannesburg Academies, Kerry Chapman, following on the positive reinforcement we encourage in our classes has developed a concept called the Affirmation Station which she uses for her own children and in her Helen O'Grady classes. This is just the most wonderful way of developing children who are confident about themselves.
Kerry is a Mom to Evie and Samuel and wife to Luke. She has her Honours Degree in Drama and Performance studies and lives in Johannesburg South Africa. In 2006 Kerry started teaching Developmental Drama to children and teenagers and 2 years later she moved to Johannesburg to launch her own Helen O'Grady Drama Academy. Kerry has run the business successfully for the past 12 years and her passion for self-development in children, teenagers, and adults is what drives her! Kerry feels that every individual in the world is uniquely formed to make the world a magnificent place to live in…if only everyone believed in themselves! Kerry’s vision is that Affirmation Station becomes a place where individuals can learn to ‘see’ themselves and appreciate what they see.
Why Affirmation Station?
Over the course of my career, Kerry has witnessed how affirming words are transformative on her students. As we do in the Helen O'Grady Drama Academy, she practised praising each student at least 3 times per lesson, and these are not false praise – they are real praises for real things, and they are as simple as eye contact and saying, “Thanks for that great eye contact when you spoke to me.” Eventually we have a room full of self-assured humans who no longer need me to praise them as much, as they are affirming themselves; it is an incredibly simple tool. You can physically see their bodies carry the affirmative thought!
Kerry’s Vision:
Kerry said, "My first creation is the stickers, but my vision is bigger than this. I chose stickers because kids love stickers, I love stickers…and the place we see ourselves the most is in a mirror. So, the stickers are designed for the mirror, but they can be used anywhere that you look at every day! Hence the creation of Affirmation Station - A station is a place that you arrive at and depart from. You arrive at the station as you are and move from there to your next destination. Affirmation Station is a place for someone to come to as they are, take what they need and then leave for their next destination; and they can come back whenever they feel necessary."
Based on this, Kerry has written her first book which will be released soon called: “I am Brave”
