I asked yesterday’s Arts & Smarts Program participants what they like best about coming to Patchwork. They were building houses with Legos, setting up a mini loom for weaving, and moving through the room while joyously chatting with their friends.
“Playing games!”
“Painting!”
“Playing with clay!”
“Building!”
Enthusiastic answers, but not terribly descriptive.
However, I can tell you what I’ve witnessed over just the last couple weeks.
I’ve watched our participants be thoroughly engaged as Peggy, the first visiting artist in our monthly folk artist series, told them about her work as a weaver and showed them how to set up their own mini looms to weave bookmarks. I feared they might lose patience with the slow over-under-over-under process, but now everyone has completed a weaving and some participants have completed more than one.
I’ve watched a series of people give Spark Presentations to the group. Sparks are activities that unleash energy or joy, and kids who have identified their sparks are more likely to thrive. John was one person who took a turn sharing a spark, and the spark he shared was doing calisthenics. He demonstrated several kinds of pushups and then asked if anyone wanted to try doing standing pushups against the wall. The tables emptied and all the kids quickly joined him, excitedly working their arm muscles.
I’ve watched as the group has gradually assembled a Dale Chihuly-inspired art piece. Instead of Chihuly’s signature blown glass, we’re using recycled plastic bottles that have been cut and twisted with the help of hot water and then painted and attached to a chicken wire form. Teams of one participant and one adult work together to decide where each new piece should be placed on the larger form.
I’ve watched at the end of every day as the group plays games together while waiting for parents to arrive. Everyone is engaged. Everyone has a part to play in the activity. Laughter and encouragement go all the way around the group. A few weeks ago, the game was volleyball using a giant trash bag full of balloons. This week, the game was called Poison Dart Frog.
It is all of these different moments that add up and stay with our participants throughout their lives. It’s these moments that they remember when they see one of our staff members out and about and promoting Patchwork in the community.
Something like that happened for John a few weeks ago. He had set up a Patchwork table at a community event and was pleasantly surprised by the number of adults who came up to the table to share that they had come to Patchwork as children. They relayed their fond memories of the Arts & Smarts program. One mother reported that her son is now working as an artist in Italy.
No matter where our current participants end up in life, we know that their memories of Patchwork will go far beyond just “playing” or “painting.” We want them to always remember Patchwork as a place where they felt safe , cared for, and supported.