Summer Magic

A note from Paint Love’s Program Director, Mandy Noa.

Hi everyone. Mandy here — I just want to take a moment to share with you all that you were a source of pure magic this summer. Y’all. Our first sessions of summer camp were phenomenal. Let me tell you why--

Themes.

We’re very intentional about the themes of our camp. We hoped they were in response to current events and needs of our community. The first day was “art for empowerment.” This day we celebrated ourselves and one another through collage and painting. We celebrated both our similarities and differences. Our second day was “art with nature.” We used the natural resources of our new 77- acre home to create mandalas, sewn folk art, and weaves. Kids loved the 5 senses nature walk for collecting materials. Our mid-week theme was “art for storytelling.” Story telling is incredibly important for kids – it’s the playful intersection of their imagination and reality and through puppet making, we were able to witness that. The neat thing about puppets is they teach kids problem solving, social and communication skills by taking the pressure off the response (ie the puppet is talking, not me). Thursday was all about expression. We used our bodies to make art to learn to cope with big emotions. And finally, Friday, “art as activism,” was art centered on community. The kids created collaborative pieces to stay on property and signify unity. We also wanted to use this day to empower their voices are the issues important to them. We gave them yard signs to design with their important issues (like environmental and social justice) to place all around Legacy Park.

Regulation.

Each day included movement, yoga and breathing exercises. We taught campers to check in with themselves and name emotions before creating. We learned to identify feelings in our body and how to move through any tough ones.

Literacy.

We included reading in each day. Our books connected with the theme. We made sure the characters and their experiences were windows to new narratives, but also mirrors of the kids in our camp. Did you know third grade reading levels often predict future outcomes, including high school graduation? This was the age of many campers so, we hope by including reading, we’re instilling that love into them.

I could probably go on and on. This past year was tough for everyone’s mental health, including kids. They aren’t immune to the stress and anxiety of their world. I believe we showed them art’s place in that – in processing emotions, connecting with one another, and exploring new realities. We created a safe space for them to show up and play, no matter the emotion they pointed to on the feelings chart. I mean really, it’s only going to get better from this point on.