An art exhibition by some children from West Ruimveldt and its immediate environs yesterday marked the end of a five-week summer programme that is trying to ensure continuity in learning between school years.
At the lot 6 Public Road Ruimveldt location where Smart Achievers Club’s summer classes were conducted, the visibly happy children were each anxiously awaiting the opportunity to display their hand-made art and craft exhibits. The exhibits included tie-dyed designs, painted pictures, painted tapestry, beaded jewellery creations, stitched materials and a variety of paper craft.
As part of the programme, the children, whose ages range from three years to 11 years, were also exposed to some of the core academic subjects, including mathematics, grammar, social studies, science, composition and comprehension. They were also introduced to elementary Spanish.
Dionne Davson, a professional teacher at the Alexander Village Nursery School and coordinator of the club, said that it was an undertaking of hers to establish the summer programme, which she envisioned would benefit the children both socially and academically while on their August vacation. She told Stabroek News that she saw the programme as a means of contributing to some level of continuity to what they would have learned at school even while on vacation. The teacher added that the summer programme achieved its aim of keeping the young minds gainfully occupied and sharp for the commencement of the new school year.
Davson said that she thought it best to hold the programme for the children in her community and its immediate surroundings. Noting that the programme, which commenced on July 19, was the second annual event of its kind, she said that she hosted a total of 36 children who participated this year. The response from both children and parents continues to be encouraging, she noted, which is why she will ensure that the initiative is an annual one.
When asked about the cost and additional support to facilitate the programme, Davson, who single-handedly funded the programme, explained that while a minimal fee was required to help offset expenses, not all parents paid because of financial constraints.
She stressed however, that no child wanting to participate was denied the privilege of participating in the programme because of a lack of finance. She added that contributing to the social and academic growth of the children provided her with all the satisfaction she desired.
Some of the children shared their experiences of the programme in a chat with this newspaper.
Cynthia Harrichan, nine, of the West Ruimveldt Primary School, said that she enjoyed the programme and already plans to ask her parents about attending next year. “I had lots of fun and made many new friends. I also enjoyed making the art and craft designs. But my favourite part of all was learning Spanish,” she said.
Emly Etwaroo, seven, gave a similar response. This well-spoken ABC Academy student said while she found pleasure in making the hand-crafted creations, she particularly enjoyed learning math, science and social studies, which are her favourite subjects. “Learning my favourite subjects now will help me to remember them when I get back to school,” she explained.
Bold and plain-spoken, Jeremiah James, 10, of the West Ruimveldt Primary school, said that among all the fun he had with art and craft, he enjoyed learning about verbs and animals. He said that he now knows how to match animals and their homes. Anxious to share what he had learnt, a smiling Jeremiah said that now he knows that the home of a lion is called a den, something he had no previous knowledge of. “I know the homes of many, many more animals,” he added.