Growing Together: a play-based social-emotional learning workshop for children aged 6–12
Developed and led by a registered clinical psychologist. Built on CASEL, the international evidence-based framework for social-emotional learning. Six children to a group, so every child is properly seen.
- Dates
- Sat 12 & Sun 13 September 2026
- Times
- 9.00 am – 12.15 pm each day
- Ages
- 6–12
- Group
- 6 children maximum
- Where
- Solaris Mont Kiara
- Fee
- RM 760
Some children come home from school and can't say what went wrong. Some fall apart over something small at the end of a long day. Some want friends badly and can't find the way in.
None of that means something is wrong with your child. It usually means they haven't yet been taught the skills — because these skills are almost never taught directly. We assume children absorb them. Most of them are working it out alone.
Growing Together teaches them properly, in the way children actually learn: through play — developed and run by someone clinically trained to notice what's actually happening.
One in six Malaysian children has a mental health problem — double the rate recorded in 2019.
That figure comes from Malaysia's National Health and Morbidity Survey. The most common difficulty was not anxiety, and not behaviour. It was peer problems: getting along with other children.
Friendship, reading other people, managing frustration, saying what you need without shouting or shutting down — these are learnable skills. And they are exactly the skills a busy school day has the least room to teach.
Growing Together is built on CASEL, the most widely adopted evidence-based framework for social-emotional learning internationally, and covers its five core competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
Source: National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023.
Five things worth knowing
It's developed and led by a registered clinical psychologist. Not a coach, not a trainer, and not a franchised curriculum bought in and delivered by a facilitator. Evon Kuah is a Clinical Psychologist who works with children every week. She developed this programme, she runs every block of it, and she watches how your child engages throughout. In this market, weekend programmes for children are usually delivered by trainers working from someone else's material. Here, the clinician who developed it is the one in the room.
The methods are evidence-based, not improvised. The structure comes from CASEL. The activities draw on established play-based and emotion-regulation practice — the same approaches used in clinical work with children, adapted for a group learning setting. And the weekend runs to the professional standards her registration requires: informed consent, confidentiality explained to the children themselves on Day 1, a pre-workshop questionnaire read before your child walks in, and a duty to tell you honestly if something else would serve them better.
Six children. That's the cap. Not a class of twenty. Six means every child is seen, every child gets airtime, and no child disappears into the back of the room. It is also the number one psychologist can properly observe while the group is running — the ratio is not a comfort feature, it's what makes the clinical observation possible.
It's play, not worksheets. Bubbles, puppets, figurines, building, movement, storytelling. Children aged 6–12 do not learn emotional skills by being lectured about them. They learn by doing them, with other children, while someone skilled reflects it back.
It's honest about what it is. This is a psychoeducational skills workshop — structured, evidence-informed skills-building in a warm group. It is not therapy in the clinical sense, and we won't tell you a weekend replaces ongoing support. What a weekend does is plant seeds: new words for feelings, a personal set of calming tools, and a lived experience of belonging in a group.
Feelings First & Staying Calm
Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 September 2026 · 9.00 am – 12.15 pm each day · Solaris Mont Kiara
The first weekend of the series is about the foundation everything else rests on: knowing what you feel, and knowing what to do when the feeling is big.
Feelings check-in rituals
A warm, predictable opening each day, using a feelings puppet or emotion card. No child is ever required to speak — pointing, showing, or talking through a puppet all count.
Bubble Breathing
Breath regulation taught through bubble-blowing. Children discover for themselves that slow breath makes big calm bubbles and fast breath makes quick ones. It becomes a shared tool the group returns to all weekend.
Feelings Sorting Play
With emotion cards, figurines and puppets, children sort feelings into "feeling houses" and build short scenes. The message underneath: all feelings are okay, and there are safe ways to show them.
The Big Feelings Toolbox
Three hands-on stations — movement and squeeze play, building a miniature safe place, and a breathing wall to try and vote on. Each child leaves having chosen the two or three tools that actually work for them, illustrated on cards in their own Toolbox Folder.
Each day has the same shape: welcome ritual and check-in, play blocks that alternate active and calm, a snack and movement break, and a closing circle. At pick-up there's a ten-minute caregiver send-off where you'll hear the day's skill focus and one simple thing to try at home that evening. On Day 2, caregivers join the final twenty minutes for the closing celebration, and your child walks you through their own work.
The weekend doesn’t end on Sunday
A Toolbox Folder
Their own illustrated coping cards — the strategies they chose for themselves.
A home extension sheet
Simple versions of the weekend’s activities, so you can keep them going.
A photograph
From the weekend, sent to your family afterwards.
A follow-up check-in
From us about three weeks later — how the tools are landing, and one coaching prompt.
That last one matters more than it sounds. Skills grow when the adults around a child notice and name them. The take-home pack exists to make that easy.
A full year, in six weekends
Growing Together runs as six themed weekends across the year, roughly every two months. Each one stands complete on its own — you can join at any point. But the themes are sequenced deliberately: self-focused skills first, skills with others next, integration last. Children who return across the series get a cumulative curriculum, which is what the evidence supports.
See all six weekends and their dates
| # | Theme | What it builds | Weekend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feelings First & Staying Calm | Naming feelings; a personal set of calming tools | 12–13 Sep 2026 Open now |
| 2 | My Superpowers | Strengths, confidence, positive self-concept | 14–15 Nov 2026 |
| 3 | Friendship Skills | Joining in, cooperating, kind assertive language | 16–17 Jan 2027 provisional |
| 4 | Story Worlds | Empathy and perspective-taking | 27–28 Mar 2027 provisional |
| 5 | My Space, My Safety | Personal boundaries and body safety | 22–23 May 2027 provisional |
| 6 | Better Together | Teamwork, and a celebration of the year | 17–18 Jul 2027 provisional |
Provisional dates are confirmed about three months ahead, once the official school calendar and public holiday dates are published. Workshop 5 gives priority to children who have attended an earlier weekend — boundaries and body safety land best in a group that already trusts each other.
Families who attend a workshop are offered a Series Pass: book the year and receive one weekend free, with priority seats. The Series Pass is offered in person at the end of Day 2 — it isn't bookable online.
Everything else you’ll want to know
Fees, times, what to bring, and refunds
| Developed & led by | Evon Kuah, Clinical Psychologist, who developed the programme and facilitates every block of both days herself. |
|---|---|
| Approach | Built on the CASEL framework for social-emotional learning, using established play-based and emotion-regulation practice. A psychoeducational skills workshop, not therapy. |
| Ages | 6–12 years. Activities are differentiated — younger children name and act out feelings, older children explore mixed feelings and real situations at school. |
| Group size | 6 children maximum. The same six attend both days; the group closes once full. |
| Dates & times | Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026, 9.00 am – 12.15 pm each day. Both days required. |
| Venue | 2Bloom, J-2-13, Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur |
| Fee | RM 760 per child for the full weekend, all materials and the take-home pack included. Sibling discount 10%. |
| Before the workshop | You'll complete a short questionnaire about your child's strengths, any concerns, and sensory preferences. The psychologist reads every one and may call you beforehand if it would help your child settle. |
| What to bring | Comfortable clothes for active, sometimes messy play; closed-toe shoes; water bottle and a light snack; any comfort item your child relies on. |
| Minimum numbers | The workshop runs with a minimum of five children. Below that, you're offered a full refund or a transfer to the next weekend. |
| Payment & cancellation | Full payment secures the place. Cancel more than 14 days ahead for a full refund; within 14 days we'll transfer you to the next workshop. |
Before you register
How is this different from a holiday camp or an enrichment class?
Who developed it, who runs it, and how many children are in the room. Camps and enrichment classes are typically delivered by trainers or coaches working from a set programme, in groups sized for activity rather than observation. Growing Together was developed by a registered clinical psychologist, is facilitated by her personally, is built on the CASEL framework, and is capped at six so she can actually watch each child. What you're paying for is clinical judgement in the room — not just a well-run activity.
Is this for children with a diagnosis?
No diagnosis is needed, and none is assumed. Growing Together is for mainstream primary-school children who would benefit from learning these skills directly — which is most children. If your child has a diagnosis or is receiving other support, tell us on the questionnaire so the psychologist can plan for it.
My child is shy and won’t want to talk in a group.
That's expected, and the workshop is built for it. Children may show rather than tell — pointing, demonstrating, or speaking through a puppet all count. "Everyone can pass" is one of the group agreements the children write themselves on Day 1.
Is 6 to 12 too wide an age range?
Play-based learning is naturally elastic: the same game is played concretely by a six-year-old and reflectively by a twelve-year-old. Every activity has a version for each end of the range, and in partner work older children are paired with younger ones — which is itself a leadership and empathy experience for the older child.
Will I get a report on my child?
Not a written report. You'll get a group summary at the end of each day and a home prompt to try that evening, plus the closing celebration on Day 2. The psychologist will speak with you privately only if there is something specific to raise — and will contact you individually afterwards if your child might benefit from further support.
Is this therapy?
No. It's a psychoeducational skills workshop — structured, evidence-informed skills-building, delivered playfully in a group, and developed and facilitated by a psychologist. The clinical training shapes how it is built and how it is run; it does not make the weekend a course of treatment. If what your child needs is individual therapy, we'd rather tell you that than sell you a weekend.
What if my child can only make one of the two days?
The weekend is designed as a single arc, and the group is closed, so we ask that children attend both days. If Saturday or Sunday is impossible, get in touch — the next workshop may suit better.
Six places. One weekend.
Registration closes when the group is full. Register for Feelings First & Staying Calm, 12–13 September 2026.
Or write to hello@2-bloom.com
Emailing doesn't commit you to anything. We'll reply within 24 hours to confirm whether there's a place, with the fee and payment details, and hold your child's place for 48 hours from that message.
Not sure it's the right fit? Email us and say a little about your child. The psychologist will tell you honestly whether this weekend is right for them.