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09
Apr 2020
Children sign up for free online classes created by Harrogate business owners
Parents across the Harrogate district are being offered a helping hand to keep children of all ages entertained.
From pre-school groups sending out video activities to school children gaining skills from new sources, generous local professionals are offering free support to parents struggling to fill the days with something educational.
Photographer Charlotte Hedgecock is usually at her busiest in the spring and summer months, capturing people’s wedding days on camera. During the week, her work is mostly commercial, including photographing client homes for a kitchen company. Under social distancing rules, however, her diary is completely empty.
“Two weeks ago was meant to be the first wedding of the season,” she said. “I’ve had five rescheduled so far, some for later this year and some for next year.
“I’ve still got four booked in for May, then four or five in June, and the same in July and August. I don’t know what will happen with those yet.”
Rather than worrying, Charlotte decided to fill her time by setting up a series of free online classes for budding young photographers. Each week, she will release one lesson via her Facebook page, challenging students to improve their skills in different ways. The whole course will last for ten weeks. She said:
Music online
For Karen Allen, who has run Singamajigs classes for pre-schoolers for the last 15 years, the move online didn’t come naturally.
Used to running her music classes in village halls or at the Kidzplay soft play centre in Harrogate, the idea of trying to recreate something professional for people to join at home was at first daunting.
“I wasn’t going to do anything,” she said. “You see all these people on the television who are so good at it – how do I compete with that?
“Then I was talking to one of my mums and she said, ‘we just want you, because my daughter knows you’."
Karen has opted not to charge for the classes she has run so far, but may introduce a pay-as-you-feel system in the coming weeks. She recognises that many people are in financial difficulty, but still need to have access to activities for their children. Her priority is keeping a sense of community, even from a distance.
“Parents are connecting with me because they just want to know it’s OK,” she said. “Some are really struggling and you can hear it.
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