During the December holidays, Bobo held a three-week Creative Workshop to bring out the hidden artist in every child 👩🎨👨🎨
Activity above: an abstract painting on canvas, using masking tape. The kids used their own imagination to decide how they would like to stick the tape around the canvas and were free to decide what colours to paint with.
Creativity is a popular attribute and an important factor in shaping their future and overall success in all disciplines.
Activity above: inflating a balloon using baking soda and vinegar. Bringing in some science, the kids discovered the outcome of mixing two opposing materials. The kids used components of motor skills; balance and coordination, to make the magic happen. As the final product, the clubbers used paper mâché to create bowls from the inflated balloons.
“Art is as natural as sunshine and as vital as nourishment” – MaryAnn F. Kohl
Depending on the activity, the hands-on approach employs all the senses, sight, smell, sound, touch and taste which in turn encourages neural connections.
Activity above: peanut butter and granola roll-ups. This one particular activity engages the majority of our senses and it very satisfying at the end when you get to take a bite of your own masterpiece. The little chefs rolled out their own pieces of bread and when it felt thin enough, used our child-friendly knives to spread the peanut butter and sprinkle as much granola as preferred. This was a yummy activity!
We offer a safe environment for children to explore, imagine, feel, process, experiment and create in a safe and reflective way. There is no right or wrong answer in art, instead children adapt flexibility and the confidence to second guess their decisions. Creativity is an outlet of emotions, an expression of the self and a tool to understand yourself better.
“Art has a role in education of helping children become like themselves instead of more like everyone else” – Sydney Gurewitz Clemens
Activity above: observational drawing. Each child was given a pot of fresh flowers to use as their muse for the activity. The benefits of observational drawing allow the artist to slow down and learn how to record what they really see. This could be different for every artist, but the details really deepen one’s understanding and it builds further curiosity and thus more questions.
The ability to think outside the box is directly linked to creativity, it promotes problem solving skills, communication and coordination. More so, it brings forth an open-minded outlook on life.
Activities above: sewing on canvas and string art on wood. Both the activities shown above involve the same mental and physical processes. The children were given creative freedom with the string and buttons (only used on the canvas) to create any design they pleased. When threading the needle, the child is engaging the smaller hand, finger and wrist muscles, also known as fine motor skills.
The Creativity Workshop explored a few forms of art (as shown above; drawing, painting, minor scale sculpting, designing, etc.), one of the highlights being, kids’ yoga. Yoga can be practised at all ages and has shown signs of positive impact on well-being from a very early age.
“Children are natural imitators, gift them with a practise worthy of imitation” – Nell Regan
Activity above: kids’ yoga. The kid’s yoga session involved a few breathing exercises, some stretching and balancing poses. The teachers observed a sense of personal empowerment among the children, who thoroughly enjoyed the exercise, though as expected, were ready for home time haha.
The art clubbers engaged in many more activities (redecorating cans/tins, spray painting leaves and finger painting on muddy plates) all of which were aimed to stimulate imagination skills, boost self-esteem and create a sense of accomplishment at the end of every day! The children took home their masterpieces proudly to share with friends and family!