Helping kids creatively tackle lockdown

Kannur

: It was conceived as a creative

project

by the Grama Panchayat Library,

Valapattanam

, in the district to bring the students together and nurture their talent during the summer vacation. But before it could take off the Covid-19 threat struck,

pushing everybody indoors.

However, the librarian, Binoy Mathew, was not ready to give up and he rehashed the project into a virtual platform using WhatsApp, and the project, christened ‘Creative Homes-Defeat

Covid

’, has over 170 students as participants in seven groups, and also their mentors in each group are busy fine-tuning their skills.

“We reshaped this concept using the mobile platform, to nurture the creativity and social interaction of the young students during the lockdown, at the same time making sure that the use of the cellphone is minimal,” said Mathew.

As part of this, the participants are given some creative tasks, ranging from storytelling and origami to painting and craft, and even artistic creation using abandoned materials. Though it began as a small WhatsApp group, now there are seven groups comprising an average of 20-25 students each and they are given the activities in regular intervals.

Though each member in the group can present his or her creation in their group, it will have a common thread. When the participants are asked to create origami, they are told to present it as a story. This way there develops a communication between the participants as well. After completion of each round, a winner group is also selected.

This apart, the students also get the chance to interact with writers and other eminent personalities. A couple of days ago acclaimed children’s writer Sippy Pallipuram interacted with them. In the coming days they will be asked to document the memories of the elderly members at home and also the lifestyle changes in the lockdown period.

“This is a new experience where entertainment and knowledge sharing take place simultaneously, and it has helped improve our skills and talent,” said Nida Fathima, a Class-XIII student.

“The platform has evolved into a virtual exhibition ground and dozens of works are exhibited here,” said Lallu Sasidharan, a Montessori teacher and one among the mentors.