Our communities may be changing around us, but some things remain the same. The birds are still singing in the trees; the bees are buzzing, and children and young people are as creative as ever. They have time at home to draw, sing, and play to their heart’s content.
Get Creative @Home
Is your fridge gallery already over-subscribed? Have your young artists used up all the paint in the house? Or maybe you want to imagine and create using theatre and drama together.
Here at Chol, we have been busy bees creating fun and engaging online activities for you and your kids at home. Check out Chol @Home to get involved.
Our Digital Journey
We started on this digital journey to bring joy to our communities in their homes. From Huddersfield to Sheffield and all of our family and friends in between, young creatives have been engaging with our fun activities. However, the beauty of the online world is the ability to connect with communities further afield.
We have been collaborating with schools in Brooklyn, theatre groups in Bangladesh and families in Berlin. In a global pandemic that forces us to be distant, digital arts can bring us together. Children from sunny Sheffield can co-create with children from cloudy Copenhagen.
For example, our Drawing Challenge from our Chol @Home project gives young creators the chance to take part in a collaborative digital arts project. We are asking for doodles and drawings from budding little fingers to create a short film that tells the stories from Professor Abdullah’s Metal Metropolis and other Imaginary Communities. So far, we have received artwork created by children and young people from Essex to Inverness. In an age with so many distractions, drawing is great activity to help children focus and develop creative problem-solving.
Well Being @Home
We understand that all these fun activities happening in your living room can be exhausting! Looking after your well-being from home is also essential to stay focused and happy. As part of the Chol @Home series, our fantastic Jess has been leading a gentle morning stretch with her daughter Nyree. It’s been the perfect start to the day, keeping body and mind in shape. To top it off, they finish the session with story-time. You can catch up on all the videos and the story sequence here.
It is important to keep your schedule filled with learning, creating and playing but let’s remember to keep in shape! Making sure we get our time outdoors is needed now more than ever. Now the sunny spell has broken, and the spring showers are setting in, it’s easy to want to stay indoors and spend all day doing our fun activities. We recommend donning your wellies and going for a wet stomp and making the most of the green grass and glistening leaves. To get some inspiration for outdoor activities head over to Create Sheffield’s Home Adventures and try out some suggestions such as a secret stone hunt or creating a natural piece of art.
As we ease into the ‘new normal’, the need for creative collaboration and shared experiences is as strong as ever. We are excited to continue giving opportunities for young creators to enjoy their time at home and feel connected with their families and their communities.
