We just wanted to give you a little bit of an update as to what we have been up to over the past 5 weeks. Suffice to say we have been pretty busy!
“How can we help?”
It all started 5 weeks ago with a simple question. How can we help families in these trying times?
It’s funny – we have always wanted to offer online classes and short ‘how to’ videos so this was the perfect time to create something awesome. We sat down (virtually of course!) and had a good old brain storming session – these sessions are usually far longer than they should be due to us getting side tracked by telling each other funny stories and taking far too long catching up – alas, L&E@Home was eventually born!
“A variety of classes”
We wanted L&E@Home to be a place for families to come to book a wide variety of online classes and we also wanted it to be a library of fun activities to help families. We have some amazing freelancers that work for L&E in the summer and we are very aware of the difficulties they are currently finding themselves in. So, L&E@Home would not only help them but also offer a wide range of online experiences to our customers. Win, win!
“Another string to our bow”
So – the process began of us creating an online platform, something that a lot of people are doing right now! We had a lot of help from our amazing website designer who walked us through what we would need to build something user friendly and also something sustainable. We see L&E@Home something we want to continue to use into the future and it feels great to add another string to our bow.
The power of Zoom
The first week of classes were all free and it was very exciting watching the bookings come in. Sam stayed up very late (Vancouver time) and Julie got up pretty early that Saturday morning to see you all book the classes. Then Monday came around – time to put Zoom to the test! We had no major technical difficulties which was great – Zoom seems to be the new normal when it comes to online classes and it is pretty powerful – suffice to say we are still working out how to use it to its full capacity.
“Feeling very connected”
We decided that Julie would start each class and introduce the teacher to the students – she went from feeling slightly isolated to feeling very connected. “I can’t tell you how lovely it was to see so many familiar faces from L&E programmes and better yet – to meet all the new children.”
We even had some cameos from older siblings who have attended camp – shout out to Celine who attended camp in 2014 and drew Julie an amazing picture of the character Brave which she still has!!!!
“Amazing tutors”
The classes were really popular and our amazing tutors were very kind to give up their time for free to launch the L&E@Home Online Classes. We have the amazing Otis who is our guitar and bass teacher. Desta who teaches English, French and Portuguese through music. Mike, the L&E Language Coordinator who teaches English, French and Spanish, Hayley, the Head of Creative and the Performing Arts Programme at L&E who keeps everyone moving and grooving with her yoga and dance classes and finally we have Fergus, our circus skills expert! We wanted to offer a really wide range of classes and we think we have certainly managed that!
- Mike – English, Spanish & French
- Desta – Languages through Music (English, French & Portuguese)
- Otis – Acoustic and Bass Guitar
- Hayley – Yoga & Dance
- Fergus – Circus Skills
Global Teens connected
We have to thank everyone who filled in our feedback form – these classes are for you so we want to make sure we are offering what you actually want. One great idea that came from the feedback forms was a space for teens to come and chat…. Global Teen Chat was launched 3 weeks ago and is a space for teens to come and chat about topics of their choosing. So far we have had teens from France, Germany, Spain, Greece, Italy, England, Morocco and Corsica. We absolutely love this idea and the teens sound as though they are really needing a space that is nothing to do with school but a place where they can have their voices heard and make new friends from all over the world.
Thank you all again for sending in your ‘How To’ videos, filling in the feedback forms and for all your well wishes during these tough times.
Watch this space for summer announcement…
Our World Camp, Young Global Leader and Teen Travel programmes may not be happening this summer but worry not, we are working on something that brings us together in some way and could be very special.
After all, a summer without L&E just isn’t the same!
We intend to continue “bringing together the world’s youth” and keeping them connected and engaged.
Take care everyone!
L&E
