FAMILY EGGCITEMENT - AND A DOG CALLED JEFF

Ask anyone where Community and Home start and odds-on they'll say 'family'. As the Easter holidays come to an end and the window for cracking naff egg jokes closes we thought we'd slip in a glimpse at a current project. The Crow's Nest is a programme of family-focused activities developed for Crow Lane primary school in Huddersfield, who asked us to help with a number of connected issues: offering under-confident children different ways of engaging with learning; attracting parents into school and strengthening their sense of connection with it; creating time and space for families to spend 'quality time' together; providing opportunities for local families to enjoy meeting and interacting; fostering a sense of community within and around the school as a neighbourhood 'hub'. Ideas around nurturing, growing, caring for and supporting were central to our initial planning, leading us quickly to the nest image as the hook for a 6-month programme themed around family and community and - yes - simply doing fun, creative things together.  



Lucy Bergman picks up the thread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the past few weeks and through to July, I'm one of small team of Loca Creatives artists working at Crow Lane school to deliver a programme of regular after-school, Saturday and holiday family sessions. In everything we're doing we're weaving in practical skills and ideas that parents and children can take away and carry on using together, conversations, and notions about family as the place where 'belonging' and 'community' start.

 

This week James and I have hosted holiday workshops teaching families the basics of willow sculpture - a starting point for nest-making and other fabric-based, printing and decorating activities over the coming weeks which will all feed into a celebratory 'Field of Flags' event in the summer. We've had a brilliant couple of days and even felt the first signs of spring on Wednesday when the sun came out to shine on us. We've made starry wands, sunflowers, tall towers, houses for tiny tigers, ten gallon cowgirl hats and even a dog called Jeff! It's been great to see the parents relaxed, sharing cups of tea and chatting whilst making a whole array of fabulous and fantastical art with their children. James also prepared a brilliant egg hunt with 144 eggs, half of which had different fun activities hidden inside for the lucky hunters to take away and do (as well, of course, as chocolate treats!).

 

Here's what some of the parents have had to say about joining in so far:

"My son doesn't normally speak to people but he took to James straight away and my daughter loves Christina" [one of the artists]

"We get a lot out of coming, mostly it's about making my children happy because at home we spend a lot of time telling them what they can't do. Here it's about everything they can do"

"It's such a friendly atmosphere"

"Yes, part of coming is because it's something to do, but it's something different. I get involved in a lot of things at school but if I don't think it's worth my while I don't come back. I've been coming to these sessions since the beginning and haven't missed any of them"