Sunflowers Kids Club

For almost four years, our Club has been hosting regular bi-weekly Women’s Circle sessions. Over time, this has grown into much more than a meeting format — it is a living space of trust, support, and community for Ukrainian women in York.

The Women’s Circle was created from a heartfelt concern for women’s emotional well-being, especially within the often demanding experience of emigration.

Here, being among women who truly understand — who share not only a common language, but shared life experiences — makes all the difference. This is a gentle space to pause, breathe, feel supported, share what’s on your heart, and simply be yourself.

From September 2025, in our 4th year or delivering services, these deep and meaningful sessions have been run by one of our psychologists, Олеся Тимохина. During these deep and meaningful sessions, the participants explore themes relevant to women at different stages of life. Through art therapy, creativity, images, and symbols, we offer a safe and supportive way to explore inner states and navigate challenging life situations.

In our sessions we sometimes draw inspiration from the ideas of Carl Jung, exploring personal growth, self-worth, inner support, and relationships — with partners and with children. We also create vision boards, work with neurography as a tool for deep inner transformation, reflect on meaningful life topics, and share practical, lived experience.

A special place in our Circle is given to the theme of femininity. In difficult phases, women often take on excessive responsibility, balancing both feminine and masculine roles, and sometimes carrying parenthood alone. Here, we gently invite you to reconnect with your feminine nature — softness, sensitivity, intuition, emotional awareness, and the ability to care for and support yourself.

For Ukrainian women in emigration, the Women’s Circle is more than a meeting place. It is an opportunity to restore inner balance, find support within and around you, and walk through challenging periods together, gradually creating a new quality of life.

The Women’s Circle continues to live and evolve, filling with new meanings, connections, and encounters. Because when women have a space for support, awareness, and deep connections, they carry the strength to look after themselves and move forward 💛

6 грудня цього року відбувся важливий соціально-культурний захід для українських жінок. Цей захід був коллаборацією між Sunflowers Kids Club та York Ukrainian Society - Maryana Mukha. Завдяки цій співпраці стало можливим організувати й успішно провести теплу, змістовну та об’єднавчу зустріч української жіночої спільноти.

Подібні заходи мають особливе значення для українців, які перебувають за кордоном, адже вони сприяють збереженню національної ідентичності, культурних цінностей, ментальної рівноваги та відчуття єдності з Батьківщиною.

Ми вдячні Олі - Olga Ivashova за їі цікаві ідеї, організацію, велику працю та безмежний ентузіазм у підготовці та проведенні цього душевного заходу! ❤️

У межах заходу з учасницями працювала психологиня Олеся Тимохина, яка професійно та чутливо висвітлила важливі аспекти жіночого емоційного стану, внутрішньої сили та самопідтримки. Її внесок став цінною складовою події.

Ведучою заходу була Міла Тайлер- Mila Mila, яка забезпечила високий рівень організації, комфортну атмосферу та динамічний перебіг події. Її професіоналізм і харизма значно посилили загальне враження від зустрічі.

Окрему подяку висловлюємо Юлії за допомогу в організації кухонної частини заходу, а також джамиля мустафаева— за надані солодощі.

Особливу щиру подяку висловлюємо Kushnir Yulia за неймовірні фотографії, які зберегли теплі емоції, атмосферу та найцінніші моменти цієї зустрічі. Завдяки її професіоналізму подія залишиться з нами не лише в спогадах, а й у світлинах, що передають справжній настрій та дух єдності.

Особлива вдячність усім учасницям, які прийшли, підтримали ініціативу та стали частиною цього жіночого українського кола. Захід ще раз підтвердив необхідність подібних зустрічей — для спілкування, взаємної підтримки, психологічного відновлення та зміцнення спільноти.

Ми щиро вдячні за кожен фінансовий внесок, який дав змогу реалізувати цей захід. Такі ініціативи сприяють не лише відпочинку, а й зміцненню ментального здоров’я та віри в майбутнє.

Незважаючи на відстань, ми продовжуємо нести Україну в наших серцях. Українські серця б’ються і тут — у Великій Британії. Ми віримо в перемогу України та світле майбутнє нашої країни. 💛🎄🩵🇺🇦

🎉CELEBRATION EVENT 🌻

On the 14th of June our Club has celebrated the 3rd year of our work as a Kids Club for Ukrainian families in York! We also celebrated our wonderful united Ukrainian community of families! 💛💙💖

We had so many fun activities during this event! Kids loved their sessions:


🧼 Soap making session appeared soooo popular that all other kids and adults ended up coming and making their own soaps! 😄

🦹 'Mafia' role play game for teenagers was so much fun!

🧸 Early Years session for our youngest children was filled with beautiful crafts, dancing and games!

Our adults enjoyed:

🛍️ Tote bag painting session and
💛 Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) for Stress.

These were very different but very interesting and useful sessions. We enjoyed some Ukrianian food and chats before proceeding to the concert and 'Peter Pen' performance. The theatrical performance was produced and directed by our talented Drama Teacher, Daryna Klymenko. We were so proud of the children and adults who have put this amazing show in a space of 2 weeks!! 🎭

It was wonderful to have some of our supporters joining our celebration: Rachael Maskell, Rebecca Russell from York City of Sanctuary, Keith Smith from York Sport at the University of York, Ciara McCabe, and Rebecca Mason. We are very grateful for their incredible continuous support of our families! 💞

We are also very grateful to our amazing photographer Kushnir Yulia for these incredible photos! 🤩💛

It was a very joyous event with lots of surprises and gifts for everyone! Every participant received a small gift of a crocheted sunflower - a symbol of sun, sunshine and love... 🌻

Every member of a club: from a baby to a grandmother - was a ’sunflower’ to us. Every person that came through the doors of our club in the last 3 years has received a little bit of warmth and sunshine through our activities and community. We are so grateful that our team was able to fill up our members’ hearts with more love and sunshine so that they can now carry it into the world. Because the world needs it. 🌻🕊💓

🚃 Trip to Beamish Museum 🍭

On the 1st of June, the International Children’s Day in Ukraine, our Kids Club went to Beamish Museum! 107 people have joined us on this very special trip to end this school year and the 3rd year of our club! 🌻

If you haven’t been yet, Beamish is a unique open-air museum that brings the history of England from the 1820s, 1900s and 1940s and 50s to life. There was so much to do in this wonderful place!

We strolled along the Edwardian cobbled street, sampled delicious food from times gone, visited many old shops displaying a vast array of interesting things, from 1950-s candy to electronics of the 1980-s. We visited an old school and played different games from the past: classics, bags, hoops and more. Our families enjoyed watching old films in the cinema, visiting the police station, the 1940-s farm and much much more!

The biggest highlight for children was riding different old trams, buses and even a steam locomotive! This open-air museum spreads over 350 acres, so there is a lot to explore!

Our families had learnt a lot about the British life in 1900-s and had enjoyed so many wonderful experiences during this trip! We are very grateful to all the staff who have helped us to plan this trip and made it an unforgettable experience on the day!

⚽️ SPORTS ACTIVITIES DURING HALF-TERM 🏉

Last week during half-term Ukrainian children from our Club have participated in the Multi-Sport Day. All activities have been carefully planned and organised by Sports team at The University of York - York Sport!

Kids and their parents have participated in: ⚽️ football, basketball, tennis,🏸badminton and a range of fun sports games!

It's been absolutely incredible! Kids had so much fun!! All activities took place in brilliant sport facilities at the campus of The University of York. The team has not only organised a lot of coaches to facilitate the sessions for kids, but also equipment and even some sports uniform to take home.

It was simply wonderful for children and their parents to enjoy these informal activities and spend some quality time together during half-term!

Thank you very much for putting your heart into all these sessions York Sport team: Keith, Richard and Alex!

💙🌻💛

🇺🇦Vyshyvanka Day in York 🇺🇦

Every year on the third Thursday in May, Ukrainians around the world celebrate Vyshyvanka Day, a colorful and festive event that celebrates Ukraine’s rich cultural heritage. On this day they celebrate the iconic Vyshyvanka, a traditional embroidered blouse that is recognized as a symbol of Ukraine. The Vyshyvanka is a traditional Ukrainian garment characterized by its intricate embroidery, which often features geometric patterns, floral motifs, and symbolic elements that reflect the wearer's region, history, and personal beliefs.

In total, there are about two hundred different embroidery techniques and more than a hundred embroidery stitches in Ukraine. Each region has not only its own embroidery technique, but also a theme of ornamentation, traditional colors and details.

On the 15th of May, Ukrainian community in York has gathered for the third year to celebrate their cultural heritage, traditions and unity. It was a joyous event with wonderful singing, dancing, food, games and heart-felt conversations. It was a pure joy for the participants to gather together, feeling a sense of belonging to this beautiful community.

Thank you to incredible support and generosity of the Merchant Taylors' Hall & Bradshaws of York catering for providing this stunning venue and food. A few different organisations came together to make this important celebration happen: York City of Sanctuary, York Ukrainian Society (open group) and our Club. We are grateful to Circus Skills York for helping to entertain the children during the celebration. The wonderful York-Ukrainian Together Choir's singing has brought so many heartfelt memories through songs - thank you!

Big thanks also to the talented photographer Photographer York, Kushnir Yuliia for these stunning photos! 🤩

This beautiful tapestry of different patterns on the participants' clothes has showed so colourfully the resilience, unity, and hope that Ukrainians have in their hearts. 😊💛🇺🇦

🎨CREATIVITY DAY AT THE CLUB 🖌️

On 22 March our Club held a Creativity Day dedicated to the birthday of prominent Ukrainian author Taras Shevchenko! He was an iconic figure, who devoted all his talent to serving Ukraine and his people. This event was designed to celebrate our creativity and encourage children and adults to tap into this creative world, learn something and simply have fun together!

During this event, we had an exhibition of creative works and art by our children, carers and team. It was a beautiful collection of paintings, embroidery, beadwork, 3D printing design, felt and needle work.

Children had an opportunity to immerse themselves into a wide range of creative workshops!


- 🎨There was ‘Painting your T-shirt’ class - where children had a go at creating their unique stylish t-shirts using paints, stencils, marker pens and more. Aren’t their t-shirts just simply amazing? 🤩

- 🖌️ We also organised a meeting with Ukrainian-British author Svitlana Karsten. Children had an opportunity to meet the author of the recently published Ukrainian-English children's book "Sonya and the Cross". Our little participants were captivated by the adventures of a little girl and had a lot of fun writing the ending of the stories and then creating their own stories! Children were thrilled to receive a signed copy of this book from Svitlana who kindly donated so many books to the children of our Club! 📗

- 🪇Our youngest participants were enjoying making crafts, dancing and singing, playing logic games and drawing!

- 🤖We were also thrilled to offer for the first time a 3D Printing class - opening the door to the world of the future for our children! During this class, children immersed themselves in the world of 3D printing and modelling - a technology that is changing medicine, construction and even cooking! Children received so much new knowledge, impressions and inspiration! ✨

Adults had an opportunity to participate in:

- 🎨 Art class ‘Flowers in Watercolor’ - delivered by a very experienced Ukrainian art lecturer Inna Birillo. A lot of parents have immersed themselves in the world of watercolours, enjoying their creative flow and making their own spring masterpiece of spring daffodils. Drawing is a therapy available to everyone!

- 💃There was also a Bachata dance class to enjoy by our women! Bachata is a Latin American dance, originally from the Dominican Republic. It is a couple dance, but it is also danced solo. This dance helps you connect with your body and learn to control it. Dancing helps us to open up, activate femininity and feel more confident. Also, dancing is a great way to lift your mood and emotional state!😊

At the end of this incredible event we all gathered to enjoy our traditionally made pancakes! 🥞It was delightful to be entertained by our talented Yeseniia who has delivered Ukrainian jokes with such humour and integrity! After the event, our team had a treat of getting together to create our own T-shirts guided by our talented art teacher Diana Belaya! We had so much fun!

It was so wonderful to get together to develop our creative talents, demonstrate our work in the exhibition and simply enjoy being together in a friendly atmosphere! 💛💙🌻

This day was a great reminder of how talented, gifted, infinitely creative and imaginative we all are! ✨

🌁Trip to Newcastle 🚌

On the 2nd of March our Sunflowers Kids Club had another wonderful trip! This time we went to Newcastle!

Our group, 78 people (!) have created their own cultural plans and had a day packed with exciting activities and adventures! The highlights for us were the places on the photos:


⛪️ Newcastle Cathedral
🧪Life Science Museum
🔬 Discovery Museum
🖼️ Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art and
🗿 Angel of the North on the way!


Newcastle was a fascinating city! We have found so many beautiful historic buildings, vibrant streets and museums. Kids and their families have had a brilliant time there. It was so much fun again to chat, share memories and impressions, laugh, walk and just enjoy what this city had to offer!

🎨Neurographic Art-therapy Session for Women with our Psychologist 🧠

Практичне заняття нейрографіки
27 лютого: 16.30-18.00

Останні рокі ми все більше стикаємося з негативними думками та емоціями, які часом здаються непереборними. Вони можуть заважати нам жити щасливим та повноцінним життям, руйнувати плани та стосунки.

Нейрографіка пропонує унікальний метод трансформації негативу за допомогою малювання. Цей метод ґрунтується на принципах роботи нашого мозоку та здатності нейронів формувати нові звʼязки. Ось як Нейрографіка може допомогти вам позбутися негативних думок та емоцій:

- Визначте джерело негативу
- Перетворіть негатив на позитив
- Запрограмуйте свій мозок на успіх
- Посиліть свої ресурси.

Нейрографіка - це не просто малювання, це потужний інструмент для самодопомоги та особистісного розвитку.

Цей метод може допомогти вам позбутися негативних думок та емоцій, покращити своє самопочуття та досягти успіху в усіх сферах життя.

Також важливо відзначити, що людина за своєю природою дуже соціальна істота. Нам складно бути самотніми в цьому світі. Здорові стосунки допомагають нам успішно реалізовуватися, відчувати підтримку та бути щасливими.

Нейрографіка відкриває доступ до сфери управління комунікацією та взаємостосунками з іншими людьми, будь то реальні особистості чи абстрактні образи.

Вона дозволяє працювати з такими поняттями, як:

- Мета
- Результат
- План
- Стратегія
- Майбутне
- Минулe

Як це працює?

1. Візуалізація
2. Аналіз
3. Інтерпретація
4. Трансформація

Хочете дізнатися більше?

Вже завтра психологіня клубу Sunflowers Олеся Тимохина запрошує всіх на сеанс нейрографики. Разом ми зробимо ваші стосунки гармонійними та наповненими та покращимо ваш психо емоційний стан! 💛✨

💙🇺🇦 The Day of the Sovereignty of Ukraine 💛🇺🇦

Every year on January 22, Ukrainians celebrate one of the fundamental holidays of Ukrainian statehood - the Day of the Unity of Ukraine. So, on the 11th of January our Club's activities were dedicated to celebrate this symbolic day together!

The event started with informative session about why this day is so important for Ukrainians now and a brief history of it. Children discovered how 101 years ago, before the threat of occupation and a new division, Ukrainians declared their desire to build a common state. At that time, Ukrainians were united by the dream of having their own independent state in the face of the real threat of losing its independence. Today, Ukraine continues to fight for its independence and unity, so the unity of Ukrainians is extremely important.

A 'minute of silence' was held in the club to honour courageous Ukrainian defenders who gave their lives for our independence and unity and, sadly, they continue to do so.

Children had a pleasure of watching a Ukrainian film produced in 2019 about cossacks celebrating Christmas, set in historic ages 'Cossacks Christmas'. A captivating story, historic scenes and a touch of humour has made it a really great watch indeed! And, of course, children enjoyed some snacks and popcorn!🍿🤩

Younger children had their own session dedicated to this day of unity, filled with fun activities in learning Ukrainian language, culture, dancing and crafts.

For our women there was a craft session in making Ukrainian traditional dolls, crafted from wool and fabrics. These dolls have been weaved in Ukraine for many centuries following certain old traditions. It was believed that this doll brings protection. We all gathered together to make these dolls and when we make enough of them (250 in total), we will take them to Ukrainian soldiers who are training in our region. This will be a beautiful symbol of hope and protection for our defenders.

The event was concluded with all participants of the Club's sessions lining up in a 'live chain' in honour of the event that took place in 1990, when tens of thousands of Ukrainians from Kyiv to Lviv organised a living chain of unity from one corner of the country all the way to the other. 🇺🇦

💛 Зустрічі для жінок «Жіноче Коло» 💡

Мета цих зустрічей – надати всім українським жінкам Йорку та округи можливість спілкування, підтримки одне одного та придбання цікавих вмінь і розвитку психологічного здоров’я. В новому році ці регулярні зустрічі будуть проводитись двома україномовними психологами: Олесею та Лідією кожного другого тижня.

Зустрічі з Олесею будуть відбуватись по четвергам з 16.30 до 18.00 в Цитаделі ()

Зустрічі з Лідією будуть відбуватись по середам з 18.00 до 19.30 в онлайн режимі.

Перші зустрічі:

🔸 Майстер-клас “Карта Бажань” – 16 січня
🔹 Майстер-клас “« Як зустріти своє кохання в новому році!» – 30 січня
🔸 Вебінар: «Батьки і діти. Як тип привʼязаності впливає на доросле життя» – 22 січня

❗️ Увага, ці зустрічі відкриті для всіх жінок Йорку. Для резервації місця вам тільки потрібно придбати квиток на нашому сайті - посилання зверху.

Зустрічі розпочинаються вже на цьому тижні. Кожна зустріч має окрему тему, тож якщо ви пропустили якусь зустріч, це не проблема - приходьте, коли можете.

✨ Разом ми розберемо складні питання простими словами та знайдемо шлях до змін. 💡🥰🤝💞

📚 Додаткові заняття для дітей 🎨
📚 Additional classes for children 🎨

Неймовірна можливість для всіх український дітей в Йорку та околицях!

Ми відкриваємо реєстрацію на регулярні додаткові заняття для дітей!

Заняття проводяться талановитими досвідченими українськими вчителями, які проводили заняття для українських дітей в Йорку вже понад 2-х років.

Заняття будуть проходити в різних місцях, але всі - в центрі Йорку.

Заняття:

🎨 Mалювання з Діаною - кожного другого четверга

🚂 Гурток: “Творимо і витворюємо” з Олею Говоровою - кожної суботи

🧮 Підготовкa до іспитів з математики GCSE - 2 різні групи та графіки

Графіки всіх занять, детальна інформація про кожне заняття та як зарезервувати місце є на нашому сайті

https://sunflowersinyork.org/sunflowers-kids-club/ukrainian/

Заняття розпочинаються вже на цьому тижні! Резервація місця обов’язкова. Реєстрація в клуб не потрібна.

Вся інформація про ці заняття - на нашому сайті на сторінці Дитячий Клуб в розділі ʼДодаткові послугиʼ.

Будь ласка, поширте цю інформацію зі своїми друзями, у кого є дітки в Йорку 😍

Чекаємо на вас! 🤩🎒🌻🎨