Kate Middleton formed a special bond with an adorable five-year-old girl named Grace as she walked hand-in-hand with the child into the National Portrait Gallery in central London.
Kate’s New Project Helps Children Develop Emotional And Social Skills
Grace strolled with Kate throughout the museum. The Princess of Wales, a royal patron of the gallery, was there to visit with a group of four and five-year-old students from All Souls CE Primary School.
She aimed to explore a new initiative for kids for her Shaping Us campaign. The initiative is designed to help children develop their emotional and social skills.
The idea was spearheaded by the Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood. It’s Kate’s first project based on the new Shaping Us framework.
Kate Middleton joined the children in launching a new interactive trail inside the museum, a learning project developed by Kate’s foundation.
The move through the gallery uses portraits as the basis for various activities that allow them to utilize and develop different emotional and social skills.
The kids loved the Bobeam tree, a life-sized model created from a metal frame crowned with brightly colored leaves.
The kids helped the Bobeam tree “grow” by creating self-portraits to “feed” the tree at the trail’s end.
Through her early years of work, Kate has shown how much she loves children and wants to support them and give them the tools necessary to help them succeed in life. This work is close to the Princess’s heart.
Kate rode the bus with the youngsters, and little Grace took a shine on the royal despite having no idea who the Princess of Wales was.
These Students Were The First To Take Part In The Project
Grace sweetly clutched Kate’s hand and wouldn’t let go. Alix Ascough, executive headteacher at All Souls, exclaimed, “Kate had been asked if she would have a partner, and she sat next to Grace on the coach. Grace chatted away with her the whole journey.”
“She knew it was a very special visitor,” added Alix. “We told her she was a Princess. She just called her Catherine.”
The Princess and the children walked by a portrait of Winston Churchill and one of a young King George VI. The kids looked into one side when they arrived at a Mood Magnifying Mirror Box. Then, they identified the facial expressions of the other children from the other side.
Kate and the children from the school spent some time exploring how faces can express feelings and emotions. This group of students was the first to take part in the project.
Kate Middleton posted a message on social media after the visit.
She wrote,
“It was fantastic to see The Center for Early Childhood’s Shaping Us Framework, based on key science, expressed in such an innovative, creative, and fun way at the National Portrait Gallery today.”
She added,
“The Bobeam Tree Trail is a brilliant example of how organizations can embrace the principles of social and emotional development and the Center’s framework to engage children and families in their communities.”
“I hope that many people will enjoy it in the coming weeks!”
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