January saw me booked to see about 400 primary school children across 3 different Ipswich schools. Organised and funded by the Wolsey 550 project. I had created a new workshop titled “Entertain Like A Tudor” where in about an hour, we imagined we were travelling entertainers and had a go at learning some of the skills required. This included the usual music and dance, but for the first time I added whole class juggling.

With a rough idea in my head of how to approach this to best empower success, I dedicated the final 20mins of the session to juggling.

“They loved the juggling particularly – they said it was fun and they loved to have a go”

I learned so much from these first outings, and it went so much better than I thought it would. The great thing about juggling is it is easy to differentiate between different abilities. All achievements are huge achievements to be celebrated. Dropping balls is funny, it’s ok to laugh at ourselves. We ended each session with a great balancing procession around the room headed up with me playing music and finishing by tipping the balls back into their box. Absolute joy all round.

I love the transaction that happens when you give yourself up to play, and the room comes with you. We all give each other so much and I leave with more than I arrived with. Hopefully the participants all feel the same.

If you’d like to book juggling for your school or group get in touch. It is suitable for any age, any physical ability. It isn’t just about juggling three balls – it teaches balance and coordination, but also resilience, perseverance, light heartedness, group support, confidence, body awareness and so much more.