The staff at Art With Heart have created a way to keep kids entertained during their extended March break.
A 21-day art challenge is taking place on the group’s Facebook page for children to participate in for the next few weeks.
Nikki Campbell-Schram, founder and CEO of Art with Heart, said as news about COVID-19 was growing she spent time thinking of ways to modify the programming before they were eventually advised to cancel their March break camps.
Campbell-Schram added that younger students and children don’t necessarily have the ability to understand what is happening and they could be dealing with a lot of fears and anxieties.
“Suddenly all of their things are getting cancelled, they have to be at home,” said Campbell-Schram. “For me, I really just wanted to create something that would keep them excited, something they could look forward to each morning.”
Thus began the art challenge.
Day 1 of the challenge was to draw an everyday household item as though it had come to life. Entries included knives, vacuums, ovens, and fireplaces that had all been personified.
Day 2 gave everyone the option to do different challenges. They could either create a blanket fort, posting photos both of the fort and the area after cleanup or create a freestanding structure with any household items.
Day 3 saw kids being challenged to help a caregiver create a meal, and then draw a picture of the food plated.
“A couple of the challenges so far, we said in the challenge that caregivers can also do the challenges,” said Campbell-Schram. “I think that’s super cool. The parent and the kid are sitting down and doing the challenge together. Right now that’s the bright side of things, having extra time with your kids.”
All future challenges can be found by visiting the “Art with HEART Studio Inc.” Facebook page. Rules to enter are listed on each post.
“It will continue to be a lot of fun,” said Campbell-Schram about future challenges. “All of the challenges will continue to use things that you can source from home. A lot of them are thinking outside the box, being creative, and they’re open-ended enough that you can apply it in any way.”
Each submission leads to an entry into a draw. At the end of the 21 days, names will be pulled to win prizes included Art With Heart studio memberships, access to days at the summer camps, gift cards, and more.
Along with the challenge, Art With Heart staff is putting together boxes of emergency art kits that can be purchased with a $25 donation to the organization.
Those interested in an art supply box can contact Campbell-Schram through the studio’s Facebook page or by emailing info@artwithheartstudio.ca. There will be a limited number of boxes available due to the time of constructing them.
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