Today is Valentines and though we have a busy day, we make time to attend an art class for children who are home schooled.
My daughter Madelyn is often afraid of being around other children her own age, She has feelings of not being able to fit in and becomes anxious quickly because she has Aspergers. Here at this class she feels safe and loved by her teacher, most of all she knows she is protected from bullying. Here she can express herself without words on the days she can't handle much stimulation or she can talk freely without feeling pressured.Her teacher is extremely sensitive to each child and their need to feel accepted.They have rules they must abide by such as "No talking" when someone else is talking and a list of bad words they may not say. She makes certain to teach kindness, respect, and self-confidence through a special art project during each class. Personally, I love the fact they learn much more than arts and crafts they have an actual artist of the month and they study their works of art and recreate one or two of them. The kids also learn about the contributions the artist has made to society. Recently they had an art contest hosted by a community ice-cream shop. The idea of the class was to work with our local vendors and give back by creating paper mache ice cream works of art.The children were judged on how real their ice-cream creations looked and how colorful and enticing they were. Madelyn's didn't win but her version of a paper mache chocolate chip sundae looked scrumptious to me. I believe it was a good way for the children to work together and feel comfortable in their own community. "This class is educational but fun!" said one of the parents "we wish it could be every day!' To me as Madelyn's mother and knowing all the sensitivities she deals with this class has made a big impact and gives her a way to socialize in a small setting It is so good to see her happy and smile too. She attends two classes a week for now with a third day in the near future.
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