After-School Art & Creative Writing

Ages 6-12

Mon., Tues., Wed., or Thurs.

4:10 – 5:30

By encouraging invention and expression in art and writing at an early age, children learn to respect their unique thoughts and voices, later transferring these mental strengths to other endeavors. During the school day, there is often not enough time for nurturing this essential quality in every child. In my afternoon classes of approximately five students, each child can consider creative, sometimes seemingly useless, challenges, and unique solutions are applauded and reinforced. The group forms a strong and respectful bond as they work through these challenges, separately and together.

Mission~

My central goal is to help your child grow in imagination, joy, respectfulness, and self-confidence as he or she completes projects designed to stimulate thinking, projects with no predestined outcome. I hope your children will surprise and enlighten me, you, and themselves!

CLASSES

Hours: The start time for the class is 4:10 so that students from Rodgers Forge Elementary will have time to arrive between 4:00 and 4:10. Pick-up time is 5:30.

Supplies: Please bring sketch book (9x12 or larger), spiral notebook or lined journal, pencils (two or more #2s for writing, set of softer drawing pencils), soft eraser (Magic Rub or art eraser), pencil sharpener, shoe (or other) box for pencils, etc. I will supply watercolors.

Snack: Crackers and juice will be offered to any student at 4:00. Parents have been generous about supplying the snack, so please speak to me about a date for your offering. If your child doesn’t need one, naturally you won’t need to bring anything.

Please inform me of any allergies—food or pets.

Sessions: I have divided the school year into eight-week sessions. This provides an equal number of classes for each session and works in the timing of projects, some of which take several weeks to complete. Projects in every session are new, so you can continue throughout the year if you wish.

Cost: The cost of each eight-week session is $180, payable by the first day of the session. Guests are welcome, with a fee of $25 per class.

Missed classes: If I cancel a class due to weather or illness, I will offer a make-up class; if you miss a class for your own reasons, you may choose to attend another class if one is available.

Qualifications~

I have worked with children since my high school days with Head Start, and in my college years running my own art day camps during summers. In college, I majored in art history, with fine art and English courses running a strong second. Subsequently, I worked in art museums and publishing houses in New York and Washington, D.C. Once I had my own children, I went freelance as a writer and editor, and also taught art at my children’s preschool. I held a few summer camps, as well, and last year taught art and writing to third and fourth graders after school. 

My writing credits include The Complete Dog Book for Kids (American Kennel Club) and Walking Where the Dog Walks: An Interspecies Odyssey in Vietnam, 1968-69, as well as being the pets columnist as a contributing editor at Country Living magazine and staff writer at House & Garden. I continue freelance as an editor at the Smithsonian Institution. I am a graduate of Smith College and mother of three children.

Please call or email:

Toni Gardner

410-377-8147

toni@tonigardner.com

~