Holidays Mean … Art and Craft

Happy Holidays. An expression of joy. Of exuberance.

Happy Holidays. And a very “Happy Holidays Homework”. Especially, if you happen to be a school student.

The assignments, the models, the charts. The art and craft that goes into it. The glues, the paints, the scissors, scraps and stuff. Things that were done mostly by parents and presented proudly by the wards as their own humble efforts. The truth shouted from the exhibits. The truth heard but ignored.

Why am I speaking reminiscently of those school days? Because, a last few days have been pretty much the same. It so happens that our kindergarten kiddo, Harjas, is having his winter vacations and he has been assigned with some interesting projects … some within his reach and others need a little supervision and assistance of we, the elders.

So, his holidays homework is what my sister, my nephew, my mother and myself have been doing (in that order precisely. And since my name is at last, all I did is nothing. I did look after JaiAditya and now that he can walk, it can be a pretty tiring task. I did help them with other chores. And every now and then did chip in with a little cutting, pasting. Only once, as a matter of fact. And that’s the end of it. It was solely my sister, Harjas and my mother working).

The first assignment was to make a Christmas card. Guess, it can be used this year. Now that the last year’s Christmas has come and gone. Sole efforts put in by Harjas. Di just showed him how to work with the glitter tubes.

The second item in the list happened to be a New Year card. A little googling revealed a smart 3-D butterfly card. Now since the project was for a KG student, Di and Harjas modified the basic design from 3-D to 2-D, from intricate to easy and the result is

And the inner leaf is

The third is a pen stand modelled out of the ice-cream sticks. The sticks were coloured by Harjas and glued together by him under the guidance of his mother. The triangular stand is at my desk right now waiting for a base which I was supposed to make but since I am busy writing, it will have to wait a little longer. Nevertheless, I am putting across the picture. I can (not) imagine how his tiny fingers managed to put all this together. The third side has been painted red and green.

The last one on the list was a fabric collage for three seasons – summers, winters and monsoons. This is where my mother contributed her bag full of fabric pieces stacked over the years. And not just with the material but also with her experience, time and efforts.  Made on the back side of a long calendar, it adorns my room these days.

This collage has been put together by di, mum, Harjas. Yes, di and mum did all the cutting of the fabric, it is he who pasted them and made the sun rays and X-mas tree decorations and all. And I cut and pasted the winter tree with snow. J

Submissions are due for Monday when the school re-opens. And then the evaluations and grading. But till then it is happy holidays. And it is a happy homework too. J