ABOUT KINX EMPO

Kinx Empo was created from a mother who had walked a bumpy  journey with 2 of her children who are autistic and have other diagnosis. One of the difficulties she found was finding good sensory products that were safe and would last longer than 24hrs. In the end out of her frustration she started creating sensory products for her children. Then friends started to come and ask her to create for their children, From this point onwards Knix Empo was birthed into her heart. Now, she sources materials or up cycles to keep all her products affordable, with her 2 autistic child going on school refusal she walked in a life of loneliness and discovered many families living the same way. From this Kinx Empo has set up services and events, in hope to bring hope, strength and connection to a community that is lacking.

THE PERSON BEHIND KINX EMPO

I am no stranger to creative learning and doing things outside the box. Growing up in a home with father and mother who were creative, much of our learning came through music, arts and craft, games, play, adventures and storytelling. Never could I fore see that this very up bringing would be the foundation of who I am and would become a garden bed of resource for my life journey and as a parent.

Being one of five and a father who was a teacher and our family lived off one wage, our lives in spare time, weekends and holidays was full of imagination, curiosity and creating and extra bodies of children who came to join in. Memories flood back to our backyard erected cardboard structures of cowboy forts, teepees and bedsheet cubbies. Endless games of chasings, hide and seek, follow the arrows, spinning around and around and falling to the ground and finding all the shapes we could find in clouds, multiple backyard concerts and endless water play on heated days. Rainy days and nights would be full of games, sewing, knitting, needle point, string art, moulding, crafting, cooking, music and dance. Singing was my favourite no matter where or what I was doing I loved to sing, drove my siblings crazy.

My father was a beautiful pianist and classical guitarist, I loved music, as a child and teenager my life was consumed with music. My father taught me the basics of piano and music, I couldn’t resist any chance in learning or being a part of music. Any music group I could be part of in school I would be there, from recorder groups, musicals and solos and choir in eisteddfods and inter school performances in my early years. My life was familiar with performance halls, the Opera House and events, which continued in high school added to my skills the flute. One of my favourite memories was playing my flute with my Dad while he played piano or guitar, we often performed in my teenage life at church talent nights.

Some of my accomplishments I have completed in my life in music is my 2Unit Music HSC, 4th Grade level in Flute, completed my first Grade in Piano, a certificate in singing/song writing and created my own music program for children which was implemented in alternative school from pre-school to 6th Grade. Later on created the program into a interactive program for bubs and Mums. Also taught privately beginners piano, flute, singing and beginners music theory. I also completed in TAFE Attendance of Certificate in Music, Literacy, Drama and Movement and a IV in Creative Arts in Christian Ministry (specialising in contemporary song writing)

Music was not my only pursuit in the creative arts when I was younger, I also dance from 4 years of age till I was 13 years of age where I completed Grade 5 British Ballet. It is in these years that I learnt that movement of the human body is a powerful way of creative communication. I enjoyed the end of year concerts and the fun of dressing up in costumes and dancing on the stage. I especially loved it when I finally got to wear a romantic tutu. I fell in love with theatre it was full of wonder for me, for a couple of years in my adulthood I ran a drama group where I wrote productions for my students and completed a performance each tear, my favourite is when we had a sit-down dinner performance of Christmas Story.

Beside the creative arts and craft world I loved, I also loved working people, at the age of 19 I started working with people with a disability ranging from children to adults. By 21 I had completed by Welfare Certificate and Advance Certificate in Welfare. My career in welfare consisted of a variety of roles from support worker, recreational officer, disability workshop support worker (production of craft and arts to sell, service co-ordinator (which included rostering and program writing), home care worker (which included palliative care, personal care, recreational care and support). I also worked with disadvantaged children and youth in their homes and weekend and holiday camps. I learnt many skills in this period of my life I attended agency training to strengthen my skills.

Many of these skills that I was building I also applied to the programs in the church community that I was leading or helping. These groups were playgroup, Kids Club, Children’s Church, creative arts groups/shows, band. Choirs and productions. Being involved in these groups led me to complete my Bachelor of Contemporary Ministry where I learnt to program children’s programs, development etc... where I was kept in good company with teachers training, some of my electives focused on the psychology of children and adolescence. I also had a privilege in attaining a certificate of participation in attending a professional day, ‘The Heart of the Teacher.’ This was very helpful went planning and implementing for the Sudanese community and applying sensory and interactive application to learning. It was in this part of my journey that we were seeing our second child not developing especially in her social skills and behaviour, the refusal to participate in any groups. This is where I created my music program children and parents called , ‘Colour to Music,’ which successfully encourage our daughter to participate with other children.

All that I had walked my journey I had no idea when I would become a parent would become a foundation to supporting my children to develop, grow and to become life learners. It is from my journey through the challenges that I faced in parenthood that gave birth to Kinx Empo. This was to become my greatest learning curve in my life, shook me, challenged me, surprised me and brought me a real compassion for people with a disability and their families. Even though my history was working in disabilities it is very different to when you live within the situation 24/7. In this isolated challenging world is where I learnt to see different, become a great observer and looked and researched how to tackle my challenges outside the box to traditional teaching methods.

Eight weeks into our second child attending school our daughter went on school refusal, she had shut down to all learning. To understand my daughter was going through was not easy as the system failed her and we were not skilled to advocate for her needs successful. We soon learnt the system did not understand or have the understanding and skill to support my child to learn, a couple of years later her brother joined her with school refusal. As a parent I felt hopeless and being forced in to Homeschooling was so over whelming, I felt suffocated by the enormous mountain I found I would have to climb, with two very unwill participants to learning. I learnt to ask questions, observe the professional therapist in their life, researched for hours, participated in online learning complete a year course with Wonderled Course. The

Wonderled course was an exceptional year where I had the privilege to work with teachers from all over the world. It confirmed that all that I was doing was exactly what you need to do to see your children to become life learners. I learnt by listening to my children why learning was so hard, not only did they have dyslexia, but they were effected by visual noise, noise, and language used. The obstacle seemed impossible to move but going through the process of unschooling and realising that learning wasn’t about the information but it was the ability to interact in order to learn. My approach had to be one that enticed engagement and set them up to succeed. With children that PTSD from school homeschooling could not look like school, it had to be different. Different is what we did...... And it started with play and observation while they unschooled. It’s a slow journey and not easy walking a road you never planned to walk, it came with a lot fumbling, trial and error and sometimes just a leap of faith. But the joy when you see your child engage and succeed, there are no words, for me it’s a little closer to my children embracing the confidence to be a life learner.

This journey as a Homeschool Teacher and Mum, was something I dreaded, but when I reflect on all that we have done and the wonder of learning I have experienced with my children, it is incredible album of memories. Nothing can replace their looks on their faces when we played trash can maths as they practiced their throwing skills form the physio, of crumpling up and throwing their work in the bin. It defiantly broke down the barriers to learning. We built backyard volcano, created parachute men with easter egg wrapping as parachutes, set up shop, created home markets, created games, stories and I learnt to play Chess. The truth is that not only were my children starting to become life learners, I had reactivated the switch in me to bring the wonder back into becoming a life long learner too.