Cherry Blossoms and Dots

by | Apr 17, 2023 | Visual Arts

April 14, 2023: Our art teacher Sharmila Karamchandani summarized her Fun Friday at Casa Chirilagua so perfectly:

“Today at our Heard Fun Friday at Casa Chirilagua, kids from 1st to 3rd grades learned about dot painting and pointillism technique. We made cherry blossom trees and talked about their short-lived life. Then I asked the kids what were some of their experiences that were short-lived and yet they truly felt lot of joy and happiness with that experience.

Many tiny hands went up in the air. I was so surprised they were holding so much in their little hearts. A lot of them talked about their grandparents ( mainly grandmothers) who are no longer alive(almost half the class wanted to talk about them), one kid misses a baby bunny who he saw in his backyard but doesn’t know what happened to it, one of the volunteer shared how she had fishes and because of not knowing what was the right water to put them in, she accidentally put them in the wrong water and they died in two days. Some of them missed their pets who have died.

All of this happened so fast in about 45 minutes, we learned about a technique, some of them needed help with making their tree trunks, we spoke about difficult experiences and then cleaned up as most of them had white and pink paints on their body. They were all covered with paint. It could qualify as an immersive experience. 😂.

Phew!! Each time I leave the workshop my heart is so filled with gratitude to experience and witness these young kids. ❤️ Fridays are fun indeed!!“

Budding Journalists at Space of Her Own

by | Mar 28, 2023 | Creative Writing

March 28, 2023: When Space of Her Own (SOHO) asked us to help the girls create their magazine, how could we resist? SOHO puts out a pretty, sparkly magazine twice a year, written by their 12-year-old girls. I love getting it in the mail! It’s big and full of pictures and full of stories written by the girls about their adventures. Through SOHO these girls learn everything from ice skating to carpentry, and end the school year by, with the help of their mentor, decorating their bedroom. They have a space of their own!

Writing for a magazine takes focus and practice, and that’s where Heard came in. And we brought in our A Team – Phallon Perry, who has published several children’s books and knows exactly how to work with these cute preteens.