Art Buddies, Session 1

A note for my buddy Amy.

The first day of Art Buddies is so much fun. There’s a strong sense of excitement and a great buzz on that first day. I also love how everyone just pitches in and works together to get the room set up.  It’s always a good mix of familiar and new faces.

One thing that I love about the first day is that the kids get to pick their adult buddy. They don’t want anyone to have the experience of being picked last, so they have the kids draw a name from a hat. That way they get to pick you and the kids love that. 

As the kids enter the room they get a chance to call out their buddies name on the microphone. Some of the kids really like doing this and others are a bit shy. Part of the objective of the program is to build the kids confidence so they create opportunities for the kids to speak in front of the group, which is really nice.

My buddy is called Amy and she’s in the 5^th grade.  After she picked me we went to sit down and got to know each other. 

On the first day the adult buddies bring something in to show their buddy what it is they do at work. We want to inspire the kids and introduce them to jobs that they may not have even known existed. 

It’s also a really nice way to break the ice. Amy was really curious about the work that I do and asked a lot of questions.  

The theme for this session is animals. We spent some time talking about the positive qualities that animals have and the kids are supposed to pick an animal that represents their good qualities and make a costume.

The brainstorming time is such a rush because all the kids are super excited. The room that we work in is filled with an amazing assortment of art supplies and everyone just wants to start walking around collecting supplies for their costume.   

All the adults try to spend a bit of time sketching and talking through ideas, but the kids can’t wait to start walking around and collecting supplies  :)

 

Amy didn’t want to make an animal costume and instead wanted to be an artist who painted pictures of animals. The great thing is that it’s completely fine for her to do that.  You don’t have to DO anything a certain way. 

Art buddies also stresses that the costume you make with your child doesn’t have to be the most amazing costume ever, it’s about spending time together and for you to make your child feel successful and to help foster their creativity. 

Sue does such a great job reminding us all that the point of art buddies is the shared experience and not about how great the costume is. Art buddies give the kids an opportunity to feel successful in what they are doing, everyone gets to feel important and like be a winner. 

Something new that has come into the program is the Buddy Books. We get a blank book at the start of the session so that we can write notes to our buddies, paste in photos of our kids working and we give it to the kids at the end as a keepsake. We can also use the buddy book as a way to give the kids something else to do if they are having a hard time focusing on the costume. 

I think it’s a really cool idea and Amy and I spent some time decorating our book together.

The first session was fantastic and I feel so happy to be part of Art Buddies.

 

I also want to mention that I do have permission to post photos of my buddy 

Amy tying up our bag at the end of the session. It was pretty full of stuff.

Amy is feeling pretty happy at the end of our first session together.

This is only one half of the room we work in. There's another huge table filled with supplies.

SESSION ONE: OCTOBER 25
PAIR UP, BRAINSTORM COSTUME IDEAS

3:30  Help set up
3:55  Orientation
4:15  Kids arrive
5:30  Kids to bus
5:35  Clean up

FIRST, PICK AN ADULT PARTNER.
Choose another volunteer to work with you and your child as a team of four. You and your "adult buddy" can support each other throughout the program, and fill in if one of you is absent.

MEET YOUR CHILD.
Pair up with your child and get acquainted. Today, you'll help your child brainstorm ideas, then start creating together.

SHARE YOUR CAREER.
Show your child what you do.  Most of the kids have no idea that the logo on their sneakers --- or the TV ads they watch --- represent a JOB.

CREATE AN EXCITING NEW IDENTITY.
At this program, you'll help the children imagine themselves as powerful and important by identifying with the positive characteristics of animals. They’ll choose an animal that represents something they’re good at, then you’ll create a fanciful animal costume together. You’ll help boost the children’s confidence as they discover and celebrate their strengths.

SPARK IMAGINATION.
Break the ice by looking at library books with animal pictures.  Ask the kids to tell you about themselves.  Show them our “Animals with Good Qualities” sheet, and encourage them to identify as many of their talents and strengths as they can. The more positive qualities they discover, the bigger the boost to their self-esteem.

TAKE TIME TO EXPLORE OPTIONS.
Sometimes, kids are so anxious to get started, they’ll settle on an idea too quickly.  Tell them they can always come back to their first idea, but this is the time to explore lots of choices.

SKETCH COSTUME IDEAS TOGETHER.
Start planning what you’ll create. We'll have paper and markers for sketching concepts. If you're ready, start creating your costume. Use your imagination!

START YOUR "BUDDY BOOK."
We'll also have blank books for you and your child to write and draw in.  On the last day, you'll give the book to your child as a keepsake.