"We didn't realize we were making memories,
we just knew we were having fun"
- Anon.
Some of you may of seen, heard or know about something called Wednesday Club. Quite simply, one day a small group of girls came back to our home for a big play date during the first week back to school at the end of August, after a long and hot summer break. The girls had so much fun they decided they wanted to do it again. We called it "The Wednesday Club", because it just happened to be a Wednesday. I suggested that if they wanted to meet up on a regular basis we could do something artistic each week. Their little faces lit up, eyes open and smiles wide. We all put some ideas down on paper and Wednesday Club was born. It all happened very fast and for the 12 weeks that followed we had a fantastic time exploring the world of being artists together every Wednesday for a few hours. The roll call quickly elevated from 5 to 13 girls, of which a different combination and number would turn up each week:
It became popular very quickly, even adults and international friends wanted in on the action after I posted up on Instagram or Facebook a picture of a tidy table ready and prepared, for a different art attack each time.
For me it ticked the box on a few things, not to mention preventing spontaneous play dates at the school gates. Most importantly it allowed for a fixed period of time to focus on my daughter and her friends and think about what artistic activities would be fun and facilitate the joy of art and "I can do that". I also thought of it as a little therapy to keep them ticking along during the transition from the long lazy or fun filled summer days to returning back to school. The girls started putting their two thumbs together to make a "W" sign and took great delight in expressing the 'W' sign as much as the peace sign as you may notice in some of the pictures. We usually finished up with an English hot chocolate drink and a treat and the girls (or my trusted parent helpers) took it in turn helping to hand it all out. The girls had a goal each week to work on together and they felt part of something different, exciting and positive. In the back of my mind I felt it was worth the (sometimes colossal) effort, if it all fostered some positive social and emotional health beyond the classroom. Strong and healthy relationships are so important for social and emotional well being for children, especially as they hurtle towards the tween and beyond years. My relationship with my daughter is close and this brought us even closer and helped her/us to have something positive to focus on each week at a time where that was very much needed. Here’s a rundown of our 12 weeks of Wednesday Club from August to December 2015:
For me it ticked the box on a few things, not to mention preventing spontaneous play dates at the school gates. Most importantly it allowed for a fixed period of time to focus on my daughter and her friends and think about what artistic activities would be fun and facilitate the joy of art and "I can do that". I also thought of it as a little therapy to keep them ticking along during the transition from the long lazy or fun filled summer days to returning back to school. The girls started putting their two thumbs together to make a "W" sign and took great delight in expressing the 'W' sign as much as the peace sign as you may notice in some of the pictures. We usually finished up with an English hot chocolate drink and a treat and the girls (or my trusted parent helpers) took it in turn helping to hand it all out. The girls had a goal each week to work on together and they felt part of something different, exciting and positive. In the back of my mind I felt it was worth the (sometimes colossal) effort, if it all fostered some positive social and emotional health beyond the classroom. Strong and healthy relationships are so important for social and emotional well being for children, especially as they hurtle towards the tween and beyond years. My relationship with my daughter is close and this brought us even closer and helped her/us to have something positive to focus on each week at a time where that was very much needed. Here’s a rundown of our 12 weeks of Wednesday Club from August to December 2015:
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The girls walked from school each Wednesday to find the table ready and prepared for them to get started. It became obvious to me quite quickly that we needed more than one activity sometimes, and we needed some standard guidelines on how to behave in a big excited group, so I encouraged the girls to come up with their own rules and I added only one... "NO furniture surfing!" A long time personal bug bear of mine. The sheer excitement sometimes became too much and became highly contagious with some running around like the house was on fire. All I wanted was to maintain a sense of calm and send the little artists back home in one piece! The girls were quite impressive, coming up with things such as "Respecting each other", "No talking over each other" and "Work as a team ALWAYS". It became routine for one of the girls to read out the rules at the beginning of each get together, eventually all ending in unison. I usually tied each week up with an email summary of our artistic adventures to all the parents, giving them heads up of what was coming the following week. In the early days I found myself caught out with nothing to do after the girls had finished their art project. One day before the girls rules became successfully routine I quickly thought on my feet and figured we could do a quiet activity in the form of Telephone, or Chinese Whispers as it's known in the UK. It opened up discussion and debate about the dangers of gossip and how you can't rely on a third party for correct information - a valuable life lesson. This week came to be one of my favorites (apologies for the shaky picture that follows but I was laughing with them),
After that little Wednesday Club lesson, I always had a back up plan to keep them focused after the initial project. In no time it all ran smooth without hiccups.
One week the girls thought on their own feet with the left over cups from the bird feeders. They turned them into telephones with the help of some string and had some good old fashioned fun (see the gallery hall of fame below for pics).
In December we decided to finish up the weekly gathering due to my daughters increasingly busy soccer schedule, and Wednesday being her only reprieve in the week. I'm sure there will be the odd reunion from time to time, just not weekly, and I encouraged the parents to take up the artistic gauntlet too.
On reflection, during those weeks it got me thinking about how and why I so easily agreed to this unusual gathering called the Wednesday Club which grew in unexpected popularity. Who and what had shaped my thinking that this was okay and doable... when most other parents were saying "Are you absolutely crazy?" or "Are you sure?", but that is for another blog post on another day. I encourage all parents with children of all ages to form their own artist's club, and explore the joy and wonder of all that is art and the feeling of "I can do that". Just a bit of advice, if you're planning on a group gathering think every step though and be prepared, be well prepared and most importantly, have fun! Here's Luluké's top five list of kids art resources to get you started:
This is a little belated but sending wishes of a fabulous and healthy 2016 to all!
With Love
Lou xoxo
One week the girls thought on their own feet with the left over cups from the bird feeders. They turned them into telephones with the help of some string and had some good old fashioned fun (see the gallery hall of fame below for pics).
In December we decided to finish up the weekly gathering due to my daughters increasingly busy soccer schedule, and Wednesday being her only reprieve in the week. I'm sure there will be the odd reunion from time to time, just not weekly, and I encouraged the parents to take up the artistic gauntlet too.
On reflection, during those weeks it got me thinking about how and why I so easily agreed to this unusual gathering called the Wednesday Club which grew in unexpected popularity. Who and what had shaped my thinking that this was okay and doable... when most other parents were saying "Are you absolutely crazy?" or "Are you sure?", but that is for another blog post on another day. I encourage all parents with children of all ages to form their own artist's club, and explore the joy and wonder of all that is art and the feeling of "I can do that". Just a bit of advice, if you're planning on a group gathering think every step though and be prepared, be well prepared and most importantly, have fun! Here's Luluké's top five list of kids art resources to get you started:
- http://www.redtedart.com
- http://www.thecraftingchicks.com
- http://www.howdoesshe.com/category/family/fun-with-kids
- http://www.kiwicrate.com
- http://www.oneartsymama.com
This is a little belated but sending wishes of a fabulous and healthy 2016 to all!
With Love
Lou xoxo
The Wednesday Club Hall of Fame:
A big THANK YOU goes out to all the parents for kindly allowing me to use these pictures.
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