Patchwork’s Arts & Smarts Children’s Program staff are at work planning the coming school year’s activities. Now’s the time to register your child or to sign up to be a high school or adult volunteer!
Leadership Training for youth in grades 5-8 as well as high school volunteers begins on September 2. Leadership Training is time spent building a team of our older youth, teaching them how to be good role models for the younger participants, and doing special projects that are geared toward more advanced artists.
The younger participants in grades 1-4 get to join the fun beginning on September 17. Activities will include a unique mix of experiences in the arts, time learning in our garden, walks in the neighborhood, time experimenting in the kitchen, time discovering what each individual loves to do, and much more! Each day also includes time for participants to work on homework with the help of an adult.
This year’s Arts & Smarts activities will take place Monday-Wednesday from 3:30 pm-5:45 pm. Participant registration forms for kids in grades 1-8 along with high school and adult registration forms can be found on Patchwork’s website (www.Patchwork.org) and in Patchwork’s main office.
Something special this year is that it will be Jane Vickers’ 30th leading the program. That’s a significant milestone! In her 30 years shaping the Arts & Smarts program, Jane has built an enriching after school environment that emphasizes artist-led, process-centered arts experiences where each finished work of art reflects the individuality and creativity of its creator. The program also emphasizes multi-generational relationships where a group of children in grades 1-8, plus one or two younger siblings, plus several high school volunteers and some adult volunteers and staff all gather together to encourage and support one another.
Jane says, “Susan Fowler was just reminding me again that one of the best things about our program is the mixed group of ages and backgrounds. It sets up an environment where delightfully unexpected conversations and revelations happen. Friendships develop that way, and it’s what it’s about. Everyone being all around the table together. Seeing those developmental relationships. Experiencing kindness and friendship. Not just doing a project, but people getting to know each other—an 80-year-old man and a 5-year-old boy having a conversation.”
Jane recognizes that there are multiple generations of people who have experienced the Arts & Smarts Program, and they all express how meaningful Patchwork is for their family. Jane says, “It encourages me that young people who grew up here, when they have their own children, feel like they want their children to grow up here as well. It’s not just a complement to me but to Patchwork.”
