Classes for Parents

"I always wanted to try to make a mosaic, and the class is nice because it’s informal," says Jo Kaine, a parent of Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS), who has been participating in YCIS parent art studies class for around one year to awaken her own handicraft abilities. 

"We talk about all sorts of things; it’s like therapy, but art therapy,” said Kaine, adding that having small children at home makes it difficult for many parents to undertake such creative activities. Jo Kaine is very happy that she is able to continue the course this year. Nowadays, approximately 30 parents are attending YCIS Beijing’s art classes each month.
 
The art class has been in action since June 2010 with the help of Judy Chick, the other YCIS parent who serves as the teacher to offer tips to parents in the class. "We are doing a different project each course from decorating a coffee table, platters and also photo frames. Class parents will first think of a pattern or design they would like to do for that project. They can then get inspiration from the mosaic books we provide or they can choose some ready- made pattern that they like which will be prepared for them,” said Chick.

The classes have even garnered interest amongst the school children in Year 3 that have been studying the Romans. The teacher asked if they can show [the parent's] mosaics as an example of commonly used art. "One student even came in [to the parent class] and helped her mother stick on tiles,” added Kaine...

Read on: Classes for Parents- Littlestar Mag