Every August marks the beginning of a new school year for students.
With this comes groaning and complaining from kids as they, largely with the help of their parents, go out to school shop and prepare to learn. For younger kids, grocery lists include glue sticks, markers, and crayons. Yet, so many finished products made by students throughout the school year lack true craftsmanship and care. This only becomes more noticeable as a child progresses through school, with art and creativity morphing into an assignment and nothing more.
This year, through my mom, I had the opportunity to help out at an art table for kids. The art table was set up at a department store, so children had the opportunity to create school-themed art while their parents shopped around.
The first thing I did was to help create examples of the projects/works the kids would make. One of the projects was an apple made of styrofoam with a clear plastic middle. In this middle, kids could glue different colored pieces of tissue paper. When hung in a window, the sun should be able to shine through the paper. Another project allowed kids to glue together a bus-shaped picture frame.
The day of the event came and it was the most successful as it had ever been. There were constantly kids joining the table to work on both crafts. Additionally, kids took turns drawing t-shirt designs themed around kindness to enter an art-based competition. Once the kids were done with their crafts (or waiting for them to dry due to an excessive usage of glue) they could take pictures to show off their work.
Overall, I’m really happy I helped at the table. Not only was I able to spend some time volunteering, but I also was given some hope. Most of the kids who joined the table were young and truly excited about what they were making. I hope to see this passion flourish and grow in more kids, even if it just starts with one craft.
The Cons of Writing 