Exotic Paper Polar Bears

This week we enjoyed the lively book Move! by Robin Page and Steve Jenkins. The kids were especially interested in the words "spider" and "snake", but were more than happy to build their own polar bears out of torn exotic paper.

The Young Masters Studio - Miró

A recent trip to Barcelona inspired me to rediscover Joan Miró with my Young Masters Studio class. After pondering Miró's spacey symbolism and cosmic composition, we delved into the Catalan master's dreamworld ourselves. In part one of a double-lesson, we spent time exploring color theory, deconstructing symbols, drawing these symbols with our eyes closed, balancing elements in a composition, and trying to understand Mirós mind by painting our own Miró masterpieces. Musical accompaniment: the surrealist musings of Mirò contemporary Eric Satie. What I enjoyed the most? Observing the children's uninhibited acceptance of Miró and their delight in recreating his paintings themselves. And don't forget - we do this all in English! Next time, we'll create our own compositions, based on elements our own recurring dreams and subconscious.

Bubbles!

After rolling up their sleeves and hunkering down for some serious artwork, the kids enjoy Magic Bubbles and The World is a Rainbow to relieve stress. 


The world is a rainbow
That's filled with many colors
Yellow, black, and white, and brown
You see them all around

The world is a rainbow
With many kinds of people
It takes all kinds of people
To make the world go round

Now you be you
And I'll be me
That's the way we were meant to be
But the world is a mixing cup
Just look what happens when you stir it up

The world is a rainbow
with many kinds of people
and when we work together
It's such a sight to see
The world is beautiful when we live in harmony

Now you be you
And I'll be me
That's the way we were meant to be
But the world is a mixing cup
Just look what happens when you stir it up

The world is a rainbow
with many kinds of people
And when we work together
Its such a sight to see
The world is beautiful
When we live in harmony

2007 A Look Back - Peace with Picasso

One of my favorite lessons is learning about peace with Picasso. Picasso's line drawings evoke endless vocabulary for the concepts of war and peace. After brainstorming symbols of peace, we studied Picasso's whimsical representations and had a go at it ourselves. The results were breathtaking!

Hoopsters

Last week we took a detour from our usual visual arts curriculum and transformed ourselves into aeronautical engineers. After reading the beautiful book "Moon Plane" by Peter McCarty we sat down and crafted Hoopsters. Unfortunately, we had so much fun flying our colorful Hoopsters that I forgot to take pictures.

On a Roll!

The first week of the Children's Art Workshop didn't start off with a bang so much as a rattle & roll. New faces and veterans alike enjoyed jumping right in with favorite's like Nancy Stewart's "Energy Song" and the "Colorful Mittens" song, Eric Carle's "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?", and marble painting!

Happy 2008 Everyone!

It's been a strong start in 2008 - our second official year providing creative English courses for children in Hannover, Germany. I'm pleased to announce that our business has tripled going into 2008, and so has the degree of my creative chaos. When not taking calls, I've been up to my elbows in finger-paint, children's books and construction paper coming up with a dynamic program for this round of winter classes! 

For our classes starting on Thursday, we'll be welcoming some new faces along with many CAW veterans. If you would like to join a course, reserve your place as soon as possible. There is usually a long waiting list weeks before courses start. I'm trying to keep up with the demand though - after Easter we are expecting to offer many more courses throughout the week.

The Children's Art Workshop has a new volunteer. Leonie will be assisting me with classes on Thursdays. Thanks Leonie!

For course information, visit our website at www.childrensartworkshop.com