Creative genie- 6-9 yrs- Trupti Aunty

When I asked what programme I would be doing in the summer, little did I know that I was in for loads and loads of fun. The preparation process for the programme was itself very interesting. I got to learn many new things myself which has left me a little more enriched.

The whole week was to be an exploratory journey to Africa. On the first day, the kids guessed which country we would be exploring and then shared some information they had about different countries. I then asked them if they would like to make a thought book for themselves to write in their thoughts, information, etc and they liked it a lot. Then we went ahead and made our thought books in the shape of the traditional African dress and decorated it with satin ribbons. I was very pleased to see that none of them had copied my book and had come up with their own design.

Then , we watched a slide show of flags and masks from Africa which they drew in their newly made thought books.

On the second day, I told them that we would be making masks and shields of paper mache. They also decided the names for their tribes and we plunged into paper mache. They first saw a chart of pictoral instructions for the paper mache and we then had   lot of fun tearing up the newspaper into thin strips. Kids even used different methods for cutting the paper, with the scales, by folding and tearing up with hands and so on. Then came the paper mache glue. All of them were speculating as to what would be the method of making the glue. Some suggested mashing rice, putting it into the mixie, etc. some said it looked like soup, milk, porridge,etc.   they found it sticky, yucky, smelly ,etc but soon they got into making the layers for the masks and shields. Some even finished their snacks fast and went back to the paper mache.

The next day, kids were very eager to paint their masks and shields. They painted very innovative designa with the paint using sponge as a brush. Some even made handles for their shields. Then as per their suggestion, they took turns to come forward and decorate their art work with chamki and glitter. Today we also had leaders for everything, for break time, badges, room cleanliness, for giving message to the friendly uncle in the office to play some music and so on. It worked wonders and it was indeed a pleasant sight to see others reminding the leaders of their dutied in case they forgot, and to see leaders execute their tasks effectively. We also did a jig on the song "hakuna matata" today.

The fourth day began with a guided visualization to stimulate them to make a village scene using clay as a medium. The kids liked the process and the music too. Then, each one made different objects with clay to fit into their village scene. They made things like plates of food, cradle for the baby, warriors, dinos, gate, hospital, etc. then after the break we put together all the clay things to make our own tribal village. They then wanted to paint the water, grass, etc and went ahead to do that. Finally we sprinkled some glitter over the village which they said was dew, magic, etc.

On the fifth day, we made weapons for ourselves to go along with the shields we had already made. They came up with detailed ones which could defend them against all sorts of attacks from the enemy. I then suggested that the warriors paint themselves to look scary and the kids loved the idea of body painting. Some did not join as they were worried their mothers would scold them but the others dipped their fingers in the paint and exclaimed that it was cool and had a blast painting themselves. I too indulged into face and hand painting and the kids were shocked to see my face smeared with the yellow and blue paint. Some kids then joined in. some even went home wearing the colours and it was indeed fun to see one kid's parent not able to recognize the child. Overall, it was a very enriching experience for the kids and myself alike. We had fun, learned new things, and left with big smiles on our faces. I am now looking forward to my next two weeks with the kids with yet another new areas to explore.

Trupti Aunty.