C4K connects to youths through digital classes
Cutwell 4 Kids has decided to go digital in order to keep providing local youths with the opportunity to express themselves while social distancing measures forced by the coronavirus pandemic continue, the program’s founder said.
Online poetry classes have already begun, and painting tutorials are being planned.
Using Zoom, an online video conferencing platform, poetry classes are being taught by poet and teacher Marcus Montgomery, who began offering poetry classes at C4K last year. Anthony Tidwell,
the founder of C4K, said the decision to go digital was made because there was still a need for the lessons.
“We’re trying to stay positive and engaged. We don’t want this to stop,” Tidwell said, noting the “kids are still encouraged and want the poetry” lessons.
“We both were like, ‘We need to keep momentum going,” he said, noting that Jesus Martinez, a film producer for C4K online videos, has helped bring the project to life. “Jesus got the ball rolling,” Tidwell said.
The lessons had been held the
first and second Monday of each month and Tidwell said the same schedule will continue for the Zoom lessons. The first of the digital lessons was held this week, and the second will be held next week.
As Zoom is a new format for Tidwell and Montgomery, Tidwell said this week’s meeting was more of an introduction to the platform to work through the kinks of learning how to use it. He said the meeting was an “introduction, just getting kids to check in on Zoom and learn how to work the program.”
Tidwell said next week’s class will also consist of them working through how to make Zoom work for all the participants, with the first real class set for the first Monday of May.
Going digital, he said, is a positive, because it allows more children to reach the program. After posting about the poetry classes on social media, Tidwell said he “had a family contact me from Conway” about joining the lessons. “It’s going to be wideopen. People from across the world can chime in if they want to. That’s what I like about it,” he said.
By only having to log on to the Zoom meeting, Tidwell said it makes the classes easier for the youths, as they no longer have to travel to the C4K Studio.
Over the years, C4K has expanded to offer many kinds of art forms for the children, but it began with painting lessons. Tidwell said the painting lessons will also be returning digitally, but will not be live lessons via Zoom. He said they will be prerecorded tutorials that will be posted on YouTube.
Tidwell said they are planning on having fun with these videos, noting, “I have some older students who will dress up like Bob Ross.”
These videos will still be aimed at children who are just learning how to paint. “This is going to be fun art, not fine art,” he said, noting the Zoom poetry lessons and YouTube art videos will be available to students for free.
“It’s all free. I never charge a kid,” Tidwell said.