Dwarf workshop
Text and photos: Nicoleta Oprea
After a rather long holiday, we enjoyed meeting again on Saturday, March 10, at a new workshop. In the meantime, our group of dwarves has been joined by Charlie, a very cute little boy, who we welcome!
As we all know, with the coming of spring, in the tradition of the Romanian people, we celebrate: the "Mărțișorul" and Mother's Day. This was also the theme of our workshop.
Before getting down to the actual activities, the children tried a few dance steps, which gave them back their energy and good mood, to the song "Clap your hands".
To mark 8 March, the children created a little marzipan for their mums, on coloured cardboard, on which they glued various accessories. The Daddies present got involved and gave the little ones a helping hand. Once the bauble was enriched with enough flowers, hearts and ladybirds, the ribbon was applied and the masterpiece was ready!In the background, children could listen to songs dedicated to their mother. You can find them on Youtube and listen to them anytime with your little ones.
Because the little ones were busy and we still had time left, some of the children modelled various plasticine figurines, others played with the toys provided, and at the end, we enjoyed a game of tickling, which is always to the liking of the little ones.
Next Saturday, we look forward to welcoming you to a new workshop where spring, play and fun will be at the heart of the activities.
Romanian language and culture
Text and photos: Eliza van Peppen
After a well-deserved holiday, here we are, back with joy and fresh strength at our Romanian language and culture workshop. Our reunion coincided with one of the most beautiful and emotionally and spiritually charged times of the year - March. The month when well-kept traditions intertwine and accompany each other with joy (March 1 - the Feast of the Marțișorului, March 8 - Mother's and Women's Day and March 9 - the Day of the Holy Martyrs). So, our theme could not be other than the above listed traditions.
After a short introduction of each of them and a discussion about the holiday, admiring a few beads, we learned, through the process of conversation, the meaning and colors of the two strings of the bead: red symbolizes blood, love, spring and night, while white represents purity, winter and day. We read the legend of the Marzipan and marvelled at the adventures of the young man who rescued the Sun from the clutches of the Zme.
We honored Mother's Day, March 8, with two songs dedicated to Mother, which we sang together. You should know that fathers are not forgotten! After our artistic moment, the group divided into two teams and we learned about spring and its flowers through a memory game. The blossoms, blooms, daffodils, snowdrops, anemones, irises, hyacinths, hyacinths, tulips, freesia delighted us with their bright colours, but also challenged us with their similarity.
We ended our lesson with a creative moment: a card for our dear and caring mothers. I join your little ones in wishing you once again "Happy Birthday, dear mommies and special women! May you be healthy, bright and inspired!"
I look forward to welcoming you this Saturday for another lesson as we continue our journey into the magical world of spring!
Play, personal development and photography
Text and photos by Raluca Tudorache
We met again on Saturday 10 March after almost a month's holiday, with fresh strength, sunshine and spring smells.
We kicked off with a Photography lesson and because we had new mounts, we recapped some things we went through in previous lessons. We talked briefly about light, perspective and composition, then about object and portrait, which are necessary notions to be able to move on. We also practiced making a few portraits and analysing the photos we took.
We explored further by paying attention to other details such as framing. We took photos trying not to shake our hand first so we could get a clear shot, then we paid attention to other details around us, the background, colours and light, size and accuracy, training our eagle eye.
Alternating with little games between rounds, the whole atmosphere was full of good cheer and overflowing curiosity.In order to move on to what I had set out to do, a different approach to photography, I went through knowledge of visual art from painting to photography. So we talked about realist art with concrete examples that we analysed and enthusiasts took a lot of pictures of, not resisting the urge not to take too many pictures, and then we explored the subject of abstract art, looking at some paintings or photographs of paintings.
Then we tried to apply the new things we learned and practice abstract photography. It was very interesting to see how the children gave free rein to their imagination, understanding that it has no limits and that the envelope of reality is flexible and offering. I found the way they analysed the examples of abstract art delightful but I was especially pleased to see how quick-witted they are and how much knowledge and understanding they have of things.
Discussing abstract art and the myriad of possibilities in which we can express ourselves, I think it opened up a more than interesting and curious perspective to the children, judging by their effervescence and enthusiasm.
Next Saturday we will explore new things though related to everything we have discussed so far in the drama and personal development lesson. We will have physical training and exciting games and then we will practice composition by putting together a picture composition on a given theme.
