The lockdown and subsequent very long restrictions in the operation of our day care center did not allow for projects where all the children could be involved together. Therefore, it was a priority for us to do something with all the children during our last visit. Before our flight to
South Africa, we already looked for white, unprinted T-shirts and got textile colour dyes. We then found the remaining sizes of the T-shirts in South Africa. Two days before the oroject the children were asked to think about how they wanted to design their personal T-shirt. Guiding
over sixty children in a joint creative project was a difficult task. Not only did it take a lot of space and materials, but each child needed to be confirmed that his/her product was beautiful and really does fit him/her perfectly.
A few older children got to work right away and turned their plans into reality. For many others, however, the design was not clear for them and they hesitated a bit at the beginning. It seemed that the project was perhaps a bit too challenging for many. After we passed on a few ideas from table to table, things literally exploded. It was unbelievable what was created. Each idea triggered many new ideas in other children. Even the youngest girl (5 years old) created a really nice T-shirt in cheerful colours and she was thrilled.
As soon as the paint was dry, everyone wanted to put on their T-shirt. They couldn’t wait to show to all the others what they did. Everyone was happy and none envied another child for coming up with an even more successful design. The next day, the caregivers ironed all the T-shirts so that the colours were sealed and the children could take their creations home. A joint, creative and useful project was successfully
completed.
House of Encouragement