First, we found a tiny wooden stall selling office supplies. We bought every box of crayons in stock (33) and a few pads of plain white paper. I think those little shop owners felt like they hit the jackpot!
Since we only had 33 boxes of crayons, we were limited to 33 students, which were chosen by teachers. Our class was from grade 3.
Our first project was to draw a self-portrait. They had never heard of self-portraits, so we showed Van Gogh's on my phone. They hadn't heard of him, either. Ceci led the project.
But first, here is Ceci preparing an example of a self-portrait. Too cute not to share.
So our little class got to work on their self-portraits. It seemed serious work. All were quiet. All were erasing furiously. All got slow, unbelieving smiles when we told them they got to keep the crayons.
And then we had a museum walk where everyone could see everyone else's work. No one moved except Adele, Ceci and me. I understand now that they've never been to a museum and probably had no idea what we were talking about! I asked for everyone to hold up their pictures for a photo, and soon everyone was up, competing for visual space, some on desks jumping around. It got a little crazy!
Adele then led the next project, blind contour drawing. When she showed hers the class ERUPTED in laughter! They eagerly began giving it a try, laughing and showing off their silly drawings. We had broken through some barrier of proper, speak-only-when-called-on decorum. Maybe it was because there were no teachers present, just us. But these kids began to be themselves. It was so much fun.
Every child wanted to show us their work, even a special needs kid at the back. The teacher told us at the beginning that he was not going to participate (we assumed she was going to take him to a different class), so he was not counted as one of the 33. After passing out the crayons we were told, in a somewhat dismissive way toward the kid, that he was special needs. We gave him a paper and invited him to draw with us. He couldn't speak and was pretty emotionless until even he came up and showed us his small scribbles at the end! The other kids laughed at his drawing, but we gushed over it. He beamed.
This little girl did a drawing of me. Without a shirt. And a belly button. So cute.
All of the girls were asking Adele and Ceci if they could be their friend. Some sent friends to ask because they were too shy. They wrote notes and gave their beautiful drawings to them, even though extra paper is not something they get at home.
As we walked out saying goodbye, the kids broke out in some kind of chant. There was so much happy energy in the classroom. I told a teacher walking by that we left the class without a teacher, and was that ok? (The end-of-day school bell had just rung, but still, it sounded like a World Cup crowd in there!) He replied that they were just so excited to have had us in there.
Many grade 4 girls asked Adele and Ceci if we would be coming to their class. We said it was time for us to go. They all began to yell, "Have a good journey!"
We got one last quick photo. (The one right after it is a few seconds later with double the kids, but it turned out blurry.) It was dress-up-as-what-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up day. The costumes were great!
One last quick photo with the owner/director of the school, Cynthia. (When I complimented her dress, she said that every Friday is "African Day" for Africans. They were their bright patterned clothing. Fun!)
Adele loved every minute of the class. Later that day she said, "I have to make that a part of my life!"
Next time we visit such a place, I'm sure we'll travel with a suitcase full of art supplies! We've also talked about having a few magic tricks we can do anywhere, maybe a puppet show, or a short play we can teach children.
Down our street, with wood-scrap shops on both sides, is this little place.
After venturing out for that yummy treat, we finished off the night with a nail biter World Cup game between Belgium and Brazil!
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