Even if you have no world travels planned for this holiday break, your children can still embark on a multi-cultural adventure spanning the globe, and they won’t even have to leave the island. They can enroll in the winter creativity
Even if you have no world travels planned for this holiday break, your children can still embark on a multi-cultural adventure spanning the globe, and they won’t even have to leave the island.
They can enroll in the winter creativity camp at Kilauea Elementary, focused on exploring music and art from around the world. Kilauea School’s music teacher Morgan Miike runs the camp, whose goal is to expose children to a world of opportunity and a variety of artistic expression.
The themes of the camp for week one are cultural tours of Spanish and African music. Students will learn to count in Swahili and learn the arts of instrument making, beadwork and decorating surfaces with stamped patterns. The second week of camp focuses on Arabia and Europe, with Swiss Yodeling, creating stained glass window replicas, weaving and assembling mosques made of unique materials. Students can sign up for one or two weeks.
Miike’s creativity camp runs from 9 a.m. to noon Dec. 29 to Jan. 9 and is open to all elementary school students on Kaua‘i.
After each morning’s opening circle, there is one hour of music, then a break for snack and play time, then one hour of art, concluding with a closing circle. At the end of each week is an art show accompanied by a musical celebration with the parents and children.
Miike said that her camp has two main objectives — to introduce world art and music in a structured environment and to allow for plenty of free time to experiment with the instruments and supplies.
Miike knows from teaching music in the classroom there are time constraints in the school day. Children rarely have time for creativity and to really explore on their own.
“The small size of the group allows for freedom and self-direction in addition to individual attention,” she said. Students will enjoy daily hands-on time with ukuleles, recorders and percussion in addition to a plethora of mixed media art. To register call Morgan at 635-8071.
• Lois Ann Ell is a freelance writer living on Kaua‘i.
