Ryken's Artsy Summer 2012 at Lilliput Academy

 

I was looking for summer activities for Ryken to boost his socialization skills and I chanced upon Lilliput Academy's iArt Class which was offered for free!  Yey!  And the school's part-owner, Beng Remollino, was my highschool classmate. :)  They only asked us to bring glue, scissors, jumbo crayons, and an apron for the art sessions.  I only bought the glue and scissors since Ryken has a set of Crayola's My First Crayons and the apron was a kitchen apron we found in my mom's home which fortunately fit him, hehe.. :)  The school also has a free cooking class, the iCook, but since Ryken enjoys doodling and coloring, the art class was the better choice.

There are 8 sessions and classes are scheduled every Monday and Wednesday, from 8:00am - 10:00am.  The first session was held last April 23.  I knew that it would be a challenge for Ryken because he is a late-riser but on the first day of class, Ryken woke up earlier than usual.  He was probably excited to go to school, too. :)

The class started with a prayer and circle time.  I was very proud and happy (even teary-eyed) seeing Ryken listening to Teacher Jona and participating in the activities.

how the shapes are drawn using 'sleeping' and 'standing' lines

sticking the parts of the face

They made little boys/girls using colored paper cut into different shapes with our (parents/guardians) assistance.  I remembered Ryken not liking the finger painting activity we had in a playdate with N@wie kids so I waited for his reaction when they were told to spread the glue on the paper with their fingers.  He seemed not to mind. :)   

our little boy puppet :)

We chose to stick the little boy on a popsicle stick instead of paper so that Ryken can play with it like a puppet.

Snack time followed after the art session.  They said a prayer first before lining up to wash their hands.  Ryken's baon were butter cookies, Skyflakes crackers, and water.  When they were finished with their snack, they lined up and went to the playground for playtime.  The music in the playground signaled the start and end of playtime.

Teacher Jona assists Ryken in the trampoline

jump! jump! jump!

Ryken enjoyed the trampoline!  He had more courage to jump on his own after Teacher Jona held his hands the first time.

He loved the slide, too, of course.  There was also a basketball ring and a boat similar to Burnham Park's. :)

After playtime, the kids changed their shirts, and prayed before going home. :)

On the second day, they made paper caterpillars and did wet chalk drawing.  I found the wet chalk drawing very ingenious!  You soak the chalk on a water and sugar solution for a few minutes so that when you use it, there are no traces of chalk dust on the paper and on your hands.  This leaves a heavy stain on the hands though, but you can wash it off with regular soap. :)

coloring the parts of the caterpillar

the wet chalk drawing and the caterpillar in chain form (above) 

:)

paper cutting

This was also Ryken's first time to use scissors in cutting paper.  He had difficulty because he was left-handed.  He tried using his right hand for a while and then he shifted back to his left hand because he was probably more comfortable with it. 

For the third session, they made shakers using mongo seeds and brown tissue holders (the one that's left when there's no more bathroom tissue) then they painted the outside paper cover.  At this time, the yayas or adult companions were not allowed to go inside the classroom anymore.  As Beng told me, it was their way of teaching the kids independence.

shake it, shake it! :)

up close

showing his shaker

On the fourth day,  they made a tree paper cut-out and the leaves were sprinkled with slightly crushed dry leaves.  I just don't know how they call this artwork. :)

so nice! :)

 

The fifth day was a 'break'.  The kids did not bring home any artwork.  My yaya wasn't sure what they did inside the classroom, she just heard them singing a lot of songs.  But when we went home, Ryken was drawing a "person" on his whiteboard saying that this was his eyes, nose, feet, hands, etc. so I am not sure if this was what they did during class.

On the sixth day, they colored a paper star cut-out bordered with painted pistachio nut shells with an "I Love You" stencil message just in time for Mother's Day. :)

For the seventh session, they drew the outline of a house using popsicle sticks and painted it with two colors.  Ryken used orange and red paint.  His work looked neat. :)

On their last session, they had drawing exercises but they did not bring home any artwork.  I was advised that there will be graduation rites this weekend and we are all very excited! :)  I am very happy that Ryken has improved a lot because of summer class.  He will soon be going to school, and I am hoping that he will be a good and diligent student like me, hehehe.. :)