Well I got Kanchan's permission to talk about Summer camp. So the next few blogs will be about Artsy Craftsy!
So Monday May 6th dawned up. First day of summer camp. I was prepping Isaac to go to summer camp and he was having a lot of mood fluctuations ... yes I want to go to summer camp ... no amma I don't! Finally Suresh said 'Isaac there will be lots of painting'. Isaac smiled.
Suresh looks at me 'There better be a lot of painting!'
As I drove to Brigade Metropolis, I kept thinking - man this is far! We walked up the steps and rang the bell! The door opened to a smiling face 'You must be Isaac!' It was great welcome.
16 kids sat in two semi-circles in a large hall devoid of furniture. I did wonder where all the furniture was and later found out that Kanchan pushed everything into the rooms inside - smart move with all the paint around!
We found a place near a sweet little girl 'M'. She soon became a favorite for Isaac to sit beside. Kanchan then asked Isaac 'Whats your favorite fruit?' Luckily there was strawberry tote bag left.
Yes tote bags - that was the first painting project at Artsy Craftsy's Summer Camp. While the kids began pulling out brushes on their cloth tote bags, Kanchan quickly called out 'Does any one know what tote means?'
senior tote bags
Art class and a little general knowledge.A few seconds into painting and Isaac had paint on his fingers 'Amma --- paint'. Kanchan quickly came over and showed Isaac her hands full of color.
'Look Isaac - paint - don't worry we can wash it off. Kids - Don't be afraid of colors' : Lesson 1!
color on my hands
We finished painting in about an hour. And I kept wondering - OK two more hours... I wonder what they are going to do next.
Snacks boxes were opened and friends were made. I realized that this was an excellent buffer for kids who were a little slower or those who needed more help.
Junior kid pot holder
Next it was time for some dance. Deepa - the dance teacher - sorted them into their sizes and spread them out. I realized that I never really danced with Isaac. He kept looking at everyone and not dancing. About an hour into dancing everyone was exhausted and it was then time for Story telling. Kanchan has been reading to the kids form Sudha murty's books and I noted to myself on how it would make great reading even for me. They are kind of like Aesop's fables. Perfect for a three year old.
It did seem like Isaac was bored since he was used to story time with books that had lots of pictures. This story time involved a lot of 'listening'. I was very happy to later realize that even though he never really paid attention to the whole stories, he heard bits and pieces. He was talking about a fisherman the next day on the drive to Artsy Craftsy. Small pleasures!! And just like that it was time to go home.
Make and play Shaker
In one week we made a wall hanging of a mosaic bird, a pot holder (which Isaac needed a lot of help in) , leaf print on the cover of a drawing book and a shaker with paper cups. All this was interspersed with plenty of dancing, outdoor games and lots of stories from Sudha Murty's book 'The bird with the golden wings'.
Drawing book cover using leaf stamping - Junior kids
At the end of week one, Isaac was doing a fairly decent job of some coordinated steps at dancing. He was looking at the dance teacher on what to do next. He was not afraid of paint or glue or any other arty/crafty things.
Senior Kid pot holders
He was making a lot of friends. More importantly his friends were not all aged at 3.5. There was the 11 year old M who dotted on him, the 11.5 year old A, who thought he was cute. There was the 7 year old S who got annoyed with his games. There was the 7 year old K who kept asking him about his dogs! His favourites are two little chaps R and H. The three of them act all crazy and drive Kanchan and the rest of the kids nuts with weird sounds, screaming and occasional rush of tears!
Junior kids tote bag
Many have asked me - Gosh you go all the way too Brigade Metropolis- Its 10 Km. You sit there for 3 hours. etc etc..
It did make me feel like I wasted a lot of time or I was mollycoddling Isaac. But I learnt a few lessons and Week 2 brought in a surprise I never expected.
Lessons:
1. Stop worry about colors spilling over the floor. I dont think I was mollycoddling Isaac by being at Summer camp all time. But I was definitely teaching him to be paranoid when I kept yelling at home not to spill colors. A couple of times when I told Isaac - dont spill, Kanchan always reassured me 'Don't worry we can always wipe it' . She just about didnt show me her hands to indicate 'Dont be afraid of colors'.
2. Interaction helps a lot: Isaac became comfortable with kids of all ages in one week. He became less whiny during week 2.
Don't be afraid of colors!
For more
Artsy Craftsy ideas visit the facebook page and 'like'. Most of them are very simple and can be done at home too.
