With Guernsey schools breaking up early for the Christmas holidays, like many parents, I was looking for something to keep my girls occupied for a few hours, and came across Rebecca’s Art Workshops for Children. We didn’t know anything about it, but as my girls were keen, I wasted no time booking them onto the first Christmas session today. They thoroughly enjoyed it and if you want to know more, read on for all the details…
The Workshop
Rebecca is running the workshops most week days during the Christmas holidays for primary school age children from 9am to 12pm. We were lucky to get onto today’s session as there are only 10 spaces per workshop, so they have filled up fast.
The workshops take place at the 4th Scout Hut behind Forest Methodist Church. I’d never been before, but it is super easy to find as it’s on the same road as the airport, before you get to Forest Stores. The Scout hut sits behind the church with lots of parking in front of it.
Easing in gently
My girls were a little apprehensive walking into the session however, they were soon put at ease by Rebecca. The tables were set up in an L shape with the chairs facing into the centre of the room and an easel displaying the snowman everyone would be creating. They were asked to pick a seat, and then they were told they could colour one of the many Christmas colouring sheets on the tables whilst everyone arrived. Tilly’s face lit up when she saw all the pens and crayons they could choose from and wasted no time getting stuck in.
Do you want to build a snowman?
It only took 5 minutes for everyone to arrive and put on their aprons, then it was time for Rebecca to explain that they would be creating a snowman picture using pencil, pastels and paint, and that she would take them through the steps to create it. With a quick explanation on the wipe board of how to get started with the snowman shape, everyone got on happily creating their masterpieces.
Break time
About an hour into the session, with all the children well on the way with their pictures, they stopped for a snack break. There are 2 very small rooms off the main hall and these had toys in for the children to play with. The Lego and pink castle were both big hits, along with the game Dobble and Top Trumps.
The break gave Rebecca the chance to use the hairdryer on the pictures to give the paint a helping-hand to dry. The children had already used pastels and paint and the secret ingredient…baby oil!!
Time to sparkle
Break time was the perfect opportunity for the children to play and renew their focus for the next part of the workshop…adding the sparkle! My girls really enjoyed embellishing their pics which included the outline, adding snow (finger paints) and glitter paint sparkle. Lottie had a touch-and-go moment which every parent is familiar with, that time when your child has spent ages creating something they are proud of, only to accidentally RUIN IT!! Thankfully Rebecca must be used to such catastrophes as she didn’t even flinch and calmly helped Lottie remove the massive black paint splodge in the middle of her snowman. (I made a mental note to be more like Rebecca when such things happen at home, I can now see that my ”OMG, how did you manage that?” approach does not help such situations!).
I was amazed at how good all the final paintings were, and it was lovely to see how proud the children were of their work. Once finished, Rebecca mounted them on black paper and tried to dry them as much as possible before pick-up.
Who wants 1 snowman when they can have 2?
If one beautiful snowman picture wasn’t enough, the children were given the option of creating another, this time drawing a snowman from a different perspective. I think everyone except my girls had a go at the 2nd snowman. Tilly said it looked too tricky and instead had fun colouring in wooden Christmas decorations.
Our thoughts
It’s safe to say Rebecca’s Art Workshop was a big hit with my girls, and we highly recommend it. Tilly loves drawing and wants to be an artist when she grows up so I knew that she would enjoy it, however, Lottie would prefer to be playing football or on a trampoline so I was surprised she immediately asked if she could go again. I think the success of the sessions is that there is a lot to keep the children occupied, from the art to the toys, and Rebecca puts all the children at ease. It is easy to see that Rebecca is a trained Montessori teacher, she is very calm and softly spoken which sets the tone for the whole session and having her and her son on-hand to help the children when they needed it was another big bonus.
How to book...
Rebecca’s Art Workshops for Children are taking place from 20th to 24th and 29th to 31st Dec and cost £30 per child. For more details, and to book, contact Rebecca through her FACEBOOK PAGE HERE.
**Guernsey With Kids was gifted 2 places on a Rebecca’s Art Workshop, however, this is a completely independent and honest review that has been in no way influenced by anyone.
