Art day Camp 2022
Afterschool went on break in May, but we still made ways for our students to engage their creativity over the summer. We held two weeks of Summer Day Camp this July, providing a unique opportunity for our students to choose from a variety of concentrated art classes & hone particular skills that interest them. Classes took place Monday through Thursday, with each week ending in a presentation of the student’s artwork on Friday. We invited parents & other supporters of the kids & our ministry to see each presentation. As always, we infused Biblical themes into our programming, dedicating one hour each day to topical discussions about the Word. Our students were not only respectful of this time, but also curious, engaged, & receptive.
Camp was a special experience for all who were involved. We welcomed back students who faithfully attend Afterschool, as well as new faces who had never visited The COVE Art Center before. In addition to our core team, we hired six other artists to assist in teaching the students. Parents who were not familiar with our ministry, or have only caught glimpses, marveled at how well this team of professional artists cared for their precious children. Real beauty exists where grace abounds, & it is abundantly clear God was present & active during these two weeks.
Week one of day camp was centered on the visual arts. Our classes included Mixed Media, Whittling, Sewing, Digital Drawing, Photography, Jewelry-making, & Acrylic Painting. We had a total of twelve kids signed up, which allowed our teachers to devote special attention to each individual student throughout the week. The real challenge was introducing them to new mediums of art & completing a project in just four days.
We are still astonished at the marvelous creativity these kids are blessed with! As much as we were able to teach them, we acknowledge that within them resides an innate gift for imagination & creation that can only come from an imaginative & creative God. It goes without saying, we are excited to bring the students back for Afterschool come fall. Many of our teachers cannot wait to sit down with them again & continue showing them new techniques.
Our week-two classes were almost entirely focused on music, with the exception of Spoken Word Poetry & Cooking. We had so many students interested in learning an instrument that a couple classes were split between multiple teachers. Our team taught two classes for Guitar, two classes for Drums, one for Piano, & one for Violin. Similar to week one, the limited number of kids in each class gave teachers more freedom to divide their attention evenly between each student. Also like week one, we are still in awe of how quickly they picked up a new craft.
Our week-two classes were almost entirely focused on music, with the exception of Spoken Word Poetry & Cooking. We had so many students interested in learning an instrument that a couple classes were split between multiple teachers. Our team taught two classes for Guitar, two classes for Drums, one for Piano, & one for Violin. Similar to week one, the limited number of kids in each class gave teachers more freedom to divide their attention evenly between each student. Also like week one, we are still in awe of how quickly they picked up a new craft.
