Summer Arts Boredom Busters – Feel Good!

25 August 2020

Our Summer Arts Boredom Busters are here to help you and your family get creative, have fun, and make the most of the summer holidays. Although the summer holidays are coming to an end, there are still plenty of free, engaging, and fun things you can do together as a family that will make you smile.

Each week in the summer holidays we’ve been sharing a roundup of some of our favourite arts and culture activities to help keep you and the kids entertained. You can see all of the blogs in the series here.

This week, we invite you to feel good with a range of exciting resources that encourage you to express yourself and celebrate your community! We’ve suggested a path you might like to follow below, or you can download all of this week’s activities as a PDF resource:

DOWNLOAD HERE

Summer is a time for picnics, get-togethers and celebrations. From meeting friends on the playground to taking part in local carnivals and festivals, summer is a great time to get outside and take part in your community. Start by taking inspiration from your home; expressing yourself and celebrating what is on your doorstep, before expanding out to explore the community that surrounds you!

Express yourself

Dance can be a fun way to tell a story through movement and music. From futuristic robot movements to modern expressive gestures, you can use dance to communicate and convey your experiences and emotions. Try out some of Zoonation’s Dance on Demand workshops and think about what kind of movements might represent you. What sort of energy does your dance have? Is it calm and free-flowing or buzzing with energy?

There are lots of other ways to express yourself with movement – find some more ideas in these Circus at Home resources from Upswing and their associates. Could you incorporate some of the balancing movements and poses into your story? Or maybe add some props and objects into your act?

If you feel up for a creative challenge, why not try Crafts Council’s summer craft challenge which includes a weekly easy-to-follow craft tutorial from some amazingly talented makers.

Feel good

Creative activities are a great way to explore your feelings and improve your mood! Battersea Arts Centre’s digital PlayKit is full of fun creative ideas and activities to help you express yourself. Try some of the activities in the PlayKit to reflect on your summer, record lists of the things you have learned, or explore how you are feeling about returning to school. Use the Bingo Time Card to make the most of the last few days of summer by completing as many of the challenges as possible!

While you are in a reflective mood, why not try some of the mindful activities from the The Horniman Museum’s online Museum of Me resource. Mindfulness is a type of meditation that slows your mind down and helps you pay attention to your thoughts and the sensations around you. This resource uses mindful exercises to help you create a museum at home – follow the step-by-step instructions to discover how you might tell your unique story.

Celebrate community

The summer usually sees lots of community festivals and large celebrations. While lots of our favourite summer festivals have unfortunately been cancelled this year, Mahogany Carnival Arts have created some easy to follow online tutorials aimed at celebrating history and culture at home. Why not have a go at creating a Windrush Hat or a Knight’s Helmet?

Festivals are an important way to connect with other people and learn about different cultures and communities. It can be hard to feel connected in the current circumstances, but taking part in a collective art project is a fun and easy way to connect with others from home. The October Gallery has created 10 x 10 – a challenge that invites you to turn a 10cm square of cardboard into a work of art that celebrates our collective story of lockdown.

Learning from others is a great way to stretch our creativity and challenge our own ideas. If you are feeling stuck in a creative bubble, why not try bursting it by collaborating with friends or family on a creative project? Our blog post from Chloe Osborne and Maggie Delwiche gives some ideas for collaborating while keeping social distance. There are some great ideas for connecting with people in your local community or getting creative with friends and family that you may only be able to meet online.

Share your creations

Have you created something that really makes you feel good?

After a busy week of boredom busting, be sure to share your creations on social media with the hashtag #SummerArtsBoredomBusters and tag @A_New_Direction (Twitter) | @anewdirection_ldn (Instagram)