The after-school Creative Writing and Art course at Llanover Hall finally started again on Thursday after months of lockdown with three new participants and three returning, aged between 8 and 11.
A while ago, a friend (see her blog here), showed me how to make an eight page mini book, and it was great to be able to share it with the children. We used A3 sheets of paper and, with a little help, everyone managed to make the folds and one cut that is necessary to fold the cover around.
The idea was to write and illustrate a story with magical elements. This week was taken up with decorating the covers and deciding on a title. I love how children will mostly always take a theme and run with it, perhaps needing a few prompts and encouragement, but getting immersed in their own worlds.
The multi-arts room at Llanover Community Arts Centre is brimming over with inspiring miscellanea that all the tutors bring in or order for various classes. There’s old cereal boxes and kitchen roll tubes, buttons and beads, ribbons and bells, scraps of material, foil and twigs to name a small selection. Paint and pens are always available, and the children are free to fetch what they need (they are supposed to clear up afterwards, but that doesn’t always work out).
Here are some of the amazing covers and beginnings of stories. I’m looking forward to see how they develop over the next few weeks.
Sarah J Featherstone 