Last fall after soccer season ended I asked Mason to think about what activity he would like to participate in through the winter months. I promise I'm not one of those crazy moms who has their kids signed up for 20 different things at once, but I do like my kids to be involved in something to get them out of the house and give them something to look forward to. Mason came up with a great idea of taking an art class. After looking around, I was disappointed there weren't a whole lot of options that catered to a 6-year-old and would fit our budget. When my friend, Marie, starting looking into it for her son, Daniel, as well, we got to talking and decided that if people can do co-op preschools then we could easily do our own co-op art class. Pretty soon we recruited our friend Jessie to join the group with her boys. So our group of Cy (7), Mason (6), Daniel (6), Brynn (4), Beckham (4), and Maggie (3) began to meet each week for art class. We would alternate who planned and hosted each class. Soon we started to do more than just art projects but taught about different artists and different art techniques and we jokingly began to refer to the class as A.P. Art and ourselves as the professors. I think the kids genuinely enjoyed the art we did, but at the end of the day it was a great excuse for us to get together with our friends from my mom's neighborhood. Marie and Jessie are such wonderful friends and I appreciate them going along with this silly idea because not only did it give my kids something to look forward to, it gave me a chance to be with my friends. During and after class we would talk a lot, cry a little, and laugh a ton. It really was a bright spot in my sometimes dreary weeks. Now that basketball, soccer, and baseball are starting up we decided it was time to end art class, but it was sure fun while it lasted.
Mason turned out to be our art class success story when he entered a picture into his school's reflections contest and won an honorable mention. I appreciate the Reflections program because it is one of the few things left where not everyone is a winner. I think it is important for children to learn they aren't always the best and learn how to lose. Mason was a nervous wreck the night before the reflections assembly and it gave us a chance to talk to him about disappointment and how to deal with it. All he cared about was getting a ribbon. He was visibly nervous standing on the stage with the 107 students who entered the visual arts category and was so excited when they called out his name in the honorable mention group. Obviously we are proud of him.
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| "The Rainforest" by Mason |
