In August, Let Start Art sessions were conducted on the topic ‘Where There is a Way, There is a Will' (concerning disabled persons). The theme was chosen with the perspective of developing social intellect among the students.

The feeling of love and devotion towards one’s country develops from a very young age. India is a diverse country and attracts millions for its alluring history, marvelous structure, vibrant culture and happy people. The beauty of India lies in the shared values, rich heritage, and unity that binds the nation together.

A special bond with their peers is one of the many factors that help children feel welcome and fosters social and emotional development. Also, learning the importance of Friendship at this tender age is beneficial to build the foundation of their personality.

It was a great experience, not only for the students but also for our art instructors who learned about the students' vacation experiences and what they enjoyed the most. The sessions with grades 4 and 5 were livelier, as each student had an interesting story to tell, not only on paper but also as a confident speaker in class.

We, as conventional readers, would find it impossible to read or write in a way that does not match the rules of a specific language. But young children start developing literacy skills right from the moment people start talking to them and playing with them. As a result, children start babbling before they speak, and scribbling- drawing before they write. Letting children express what they feel through drawing and writing in their own free way would allow them to form narratives and get them started with writing. In this month of Let's Start Art sessions, we added emergent literacy practices to make the class more engaging and help children gain confidence as well as interest in literacy education.

The concept of education in our country is limited to the mark sheets of the students. Children who take interest in drawing, singing or any othe...

“Shouldn’t you just teach the students who are actually good at drawing, rest of them won’t get it.”

Sound familiar? The concept of education in our country is limited to the mark sheets of the students. Children who take interest in drawing, singing or any other form of arts are generally asked to focus on the studies, stop distracting themselves with the extracurriculars and concentrate on the ‘subjects that matter’. These challenges have so far disabled the arts from serving their actual purposes.

Can you interpret your child's drawing?
Child Art is a result of the observations, emotions, experiences and imagination of a child, which later helps her develop into a creative person. While our children put so much effort into their drawing, we have a habit of distinguishing them as good or bad without even trying to understand them.

Some drawings are just drawings, with obvious meaning. But sometimes you can discover deeper meanings out of your child's drawings, and figure out what she/he is feeling or trying to express.

As the pandemic began to rise across the world, baffling the best of the world's doctors and scientists working in the search of its cure, the only directives suggested for common people were to keep washing hands and maintain social distance. In March, a nationwide lockdown was ordered to contain the spread of the virus, limiting the movement of the entire population of India. 

It has been seven months since then, and education, as a result, has largely moved online. However, the question is, "Was India ready for this shift to online learning?"

While the concept of arts-integrated learning is still new in India, the students who have been attending Let's Start Art sessions have found their ways in relating the routine subjects with arts and learn better. The first set of art sessions in the month of January were conducted on the theme "If Trees could walk" taken from a poem in their Hindi textbook.