In the city have diverse activities to engage children

hirteen-year-old Dhwani S reels o’ all that she had done during her summer classes in one breath. “We are practising some Kalari moves to warm up for Kambadavukali (rhythmic dance with sticks). Last week, there was origami and folk music. Today I had an acting session too.” The teenager is one of the participants of a summer camp at Theatre Academy for Media and Performance (Thamp), Peroorkada. It is her third year at the annual camp organised

Tby the contemporary art and acting collective.

Summer camps are no longer con…ned to options such as music, dance, yoga, …ne arts, performing arts, sports, languages and theatre. Children [and parents] are spoilt for choice as organisers of summers camps come up with innovative, o’beat sessions.

Educational institutions, individuals, coaching centres, cultural centres and the like have curated numerous activities for children in di’erent age groups.

So, now, there are classes in carpentry, soldering, plumbing and furniture-making. Cooking classes (no gas, no …re) have become the norm. Training in managing expenses, shop management, publishing magazines, public speaking boot camp, …lmmaking, garden designing, training in Arti…cial Intelligence, adventure activities, new-age hobbies and art programmes…the list goes on.

Art matters

Hobby classes have usually been the mainstay of summer camps. Every year, new categories of activities are added to appeal to parents and children.

Premier O¢ce Equipment is holding Artventure 2024, a series of art and craft sessions, featuring eight artists and 18 art forms, which started on April 6 and ends on May 8.

“We have been holding workshops on weekends at our space at Kesavadasapuram for some time now. As the vacations are on, we thought of bringing together some of the trending art and craft disciplines under one roof,” says Sneha Govind, who runs Premier.

Artventure includes classes in mural art, crochet, resin art, doodling, lippan art, origami, …nger puppets, doll making, paper quilling, and 3D sculpture art among others.

Making art and craft a wholesome experience has been the motto of Thamp, says Rajesh Chandran T T, director of Thamp. “We have been using games and activities to in“uence an individual’s personality. Theatre is our forte and we are using it as a therapeutic aid,” says Rajesh.

The two-month programme has activities ranging from yoga, martial arts and cooking to theatre, puppetry, folk arts, travel, dance, music, literature and media production. At the end of the camp, full-“edged