You pick them up.
You ask how it went.
And you get…
“Good.”
Or:
“Fine.”
Or sometimes just a shrug.
After three hours, you might expect a bit more.
A story.
A highlight.
Something.
So it’s easy to wonder:
“Did they actually enjoy it?”
Not all children process things out loud
Some children come out talking non-stop.
You hear everything:
who they sat next to
what they did in drama
something funny that happened
Others don’t.
Not because nothing happened.
But because they’re still processing it.
It’s a lot to take in
For many children, especially in the early weeks, it’s quite a big experience.
New people.
New teachers.
New routines.
Even if they’ve enjoyed it, they’re still:
- making sense of it
- remembering bits of it
- working out how they feel about it
That doesn’t always come out immediately.
You often see it later
This is something parents mention quite a lot.
They don’t say much in the car…
But later on:
- something comes up at dinner
- they mention a name out of nowhere
- they copy something they did
- they bring it up the next day
Almost like it needed a bit of time to settle first.
Quiet doesn’t mean disengaged
It’s easy to assume that:
talking a lot = enjoyed it
saying very little = didn’t
But that’s not always how it works.
Some children:
- enjoy things internally
- take things in without saying much
- need time before they’re ready to share
They’re still involved.
You just don’t always see it straight away.
What to look for instead
If they’re not saying much, it can help to notice other things:
- Did they go back in the following week without resistance?
- Do they seem comfortable when they arrive?
- Do they stay in the room?
- Do small details come out later on?
Those are often better indicators than what they say in the moment.
And sometimes… that’s just who they are
Some children will always be the ones who:
give you one-word answers
don’t offer much detail
keep things to themselves
That doesn’t mean they’re not enjoying it.
It just means they experience things in a quieter way.
So if you’re hearing “It was fine”
You’re not alone.
And it doesn’t mean it didn’t matter.
Because quite often…
it’s the children who say the least straight away
who show the most over time.
Find out more about our
amazing performing arts classes here
Theatretrain Hitchin
Saturdays
Hitchin Girls School
9.30am-12.30pm
Theatretrain Letchworth
Saturdays
St Christopher’s School
9am-12pm
Theatretrain Stevenage
Saturdays
Marriotts School
1.30pm-4.30pm
