Kids school activity: 1,000+ Fun Ideas for Kids Ages 6-12 {Crafts, Activities & More}

settlement Tugulym of the Sverdlovsk region

Today professional orientation has become a very topical topic in the field of additional education. Indeed, in modern conditions of a shortage of vacancies among employers, progressive robotization of production and rising unemployment, the demand for special knowledge, skills and practical experience are of paramount importance. Also important is the possible practical creative connection of students with a potential employer even during the period of study, which, of course, will greatly increase the chances of getting a job with a decent wage. This is understandable if we talk about high school students who have already consciously chosen their future path. And what about the junior and middle managers? Are projects available to them? Do they need her? What character and form can the project activity of younger schoolchildren have?
Let’s try to find answers to these questions. First of all, to the question: do younger students need project activities, the answer is obvious if the term “project activity” for younger students is understood as a form of self-expression of the child, his individual vision of the world and his own idea of ​​the proposed topic.
At the first stage of teaching fine arts, the development of students’ interest in creative activity is of paramount importance. The time spent on classes in a routine forced-edifying form can be confidently considered lost. Since children who are tired of school lessons are unlikely to accept the continuation of school classes (in their understanding) with interest and pleasure. Any game form of teaching younger students in institutions of additional education is preferable, but if we talk about children’s art schools of the academic style, it should not be reduced to circle work on interests. So, a compromise is needed, which allows both to arouse the interest of students in educational activities, and to conduct full-fledged classes according to the training program.
The principle of the primacy of ideas can become such a compromise. That is, the basis of the stage of the curriculum is an idea (any project), the implementation of which requires the acquisition of the necessary knowledge and skills. If children strive to implement an interesting idea, then in order to achieve their goal, they will be willing to study and more successfully master the basic educational material. Ideas or creative projects can be either individual or collective. Parents can also be involved in the implementation of children’s creative projects. For example: aesthetic arrangement of a children’s room, a place for classes or a yard. A very interesting and promising design project for a child’s bed can become. Everyone knows that the bed is the territory that the child considers his property, the world of his fantasies, his universe, where he retires from everything and everyone. Designing and implementing the design of your bed will interest any child. Here, the actual implementation of the idea becomes a necessary condition, the fulfillment of which is impossible without the participation of parents.
If we talk about the project activities of students, then the implementation of creative ideas is of great importance. An unrealized project, on which a lot of effort and time has been spent, is more likely to discourage interest in creative project activities than to activate it. On the contrary, even an insignificant project that has received a material embodiment will become not only a source of pride for the child, but also a powerful incentive for further development and improvement. The possibility of implementing children’s projects should be given priority, therefore, when planning project activities in the educational process, one should, first of all, think about the relevance of the project and its practical implementation.

Examples of collective creative design activities can be projects for the improvement of the school yard or public places, school interior design.
Usually, in addition to the departments of fine and decorative arts, there are music and theater departments in children’s art schools and other institutions of additional education. It is not uncommon for the same children to simultaneously attend both the department of fine and decorative arts and the music or theater department. For example, the development of a design for a puppet show, which includes the design of stage scenery, the development and production of puppet characters, can become a collective children’s project work. If a child is involved in the play, then he will certainly be interested in creating the image of his hero according to his own vision, and he will participate with great enthusiasm in the play with the doll he created.

There are many such examples of project activities of younger students. The main and indispensable condition for this activity is the personal, authorial participation of children, their involvement in the process of the birth of the idea itself and in all further stages of its implementation.
When involving middle-aged schoolchildren in project activities, it is desirable to take into account the individual interests of children, their capabilities and inclinations for any activity, their sphere of hobbies. At this level, it is quite possible to implement more significant creative projects. For example: designing the interiors of a school, a classroom, making themed layouts for a school museum, and the like. It should be taken into account that even at the stage of the emergence of an idea, it is necessary to coordinate actions with the school administration, the class teacher, the head of the museum, since the main goal is to implement the idea. A child involved in such a project should feel its importance, involvement in the cause, the result of which will remain for many years.

At this stage of the project activity, students can actively develop their primary professional design and construction skills, introduce them to the basics of professional design and design activities. This work will require an in-depth study of drawing, volume-scale modeling, geometric and mathematical calculations, as well as search and research work.
The project work of middle-aged schoolchildren will not only bring them closer to professional training, but will also reveal individual inclinations and preferences, which in the future will determine the direction of preparatory work in the chosen specialization.
For high school students, professional orientation in the field of additional education should become a priority. And here project activity can take a leading position, and not only in fine arts or design. To paraphrase a well-known saying, I would say this: it is better to try once than to see a hundred times. You can sit next to the driver a hundred times and admire his work, but the real excitement and satisfaction from driving will come only when you get the opportunity to drive yourself. High school students may well become authors or co-authors of large, socially significant projects. Such as landscape design, arrangement of recreation areas and parks of a village or city, the creation of monuments and places of worship, the design of springs and wells, the design of mass celebrations and much more. Of course, the implementation of such projects depends entirely on the administration of the local authorities, and the coordination of the proposed design work should be carried out at the initial stage.
In order for such a project to take place, first of all, both high school students and their leader must interest the administration and demonstrate their competence. For the administration, such a proposal may be interesting, since it is known that design developments are not cheap. Students of institutions of additional education perform such work, as a rule, on a voluntary basis or for a very nominal fee. Nevertheless, the conditional income of high school students can be considered not only the accumulated practical experience, but also a portfolio, which in the future can provide an invaluable service when entering a higher educational institution in the chosen specialty.
In the work on large projects, students can put into practice the acquired professional knowledge, get acquainted not only with the creative design part of the project activity, but also with the material and technical side, learn the basics of materials science, design estimates. That is, to get a complete picture of the chosen profession.
In 2015, students of the Tugulym Children’s Art School developed and presented to the Tugulym District Administration a project for the reconstruction of the Alley of Glory. The development included not only sketch drawings, but also large-scale models of the Walk of Fame itself and the proposed compositions. Design work was carried out on the calculation and production of drawings of frames, bases of steles and the “Bayonets” monument. For the manufacture of architectural compositions, we proposed fiberglass and a new composite material based on polyester resins, the so-called “artificial marble”. Work on the project included carrying out calculations of the strength and stability of structures to aerodynamic loads and atmospheric precipitation. An approximate calculation of the cost of materials, the manufacture of architectural compositions, their structural elements and installation work was also calculated and presented.
In the future, in my opinion, it would be nice to introduce such works into the practice of graduation projects for graduates of children’s art schools of the departments of fine, decorative and applied arts. Moreover, in my deep conviction, there is a need to create design departments in children’s art schools, and possibly some professionally specialized departments. If, for example, in a city or village there is an enterprise specializing in the production of products with an artistic basis, then the initial targeted training of future specialists will be of interest to the management of the enterprise. In this case, close cooperation between the enterprise and the children’s art school can be carried out, and students can count on reserving jobs for them.

The self-supporting activity of high school students could also be a good practical experience. Work for material reward should instill in students a sense of responsibility for their work. Children can gain experience in communicating with customers, which is of great importance in the work of a designer. Self-supporting activities of high school students in children’s art schools of the departments of fine and decorative arts can be carried out in the following areas:
1. Design developments and services (from small private orders to large-scale design projects in various areas, including interior and landscape design).
2. Fulfillment of individual orders of arts and crafts.
3. Performance of works in sculpture, painting and graphics.
4. Development of design for various events.
5. Conducting master classes in painting, graphics, arts and crafts and folk crafts.
6. Development of advertising, logos, banners, advertising booklets.
As a result, it can be stated with confidence that the development of students’ project activities should become a significant contribution in addition to traditional academic teaching in children’s art schools. It is quite possible that the principle of design activity can be applied not only by the departments of fine and decorative arts. Perhaps teachers of music, choreography, theater and other arts will find their own forms of project activities that can have an effective impact on the success of the educational process.

Self-government system

The system of children’s school parliament in 2007 passed the stage of reform. The structure of class and school self-government has changed. The highest legislative body of children’s self-government of the school is the conference. The permanent legislature is the school parliament. Parliament is formed on an elective basis. On September 21, the first elections of the president of the school parliament and representatives to the children’s City School Parliament were held.

On the basis of the activities of the parliament, ministries were formed: education, culture, sports, press, social policy and labor. The ministries included representatives of small towns – classes. The prime ministers are the teachers of the school. Elections for city administrations were held in the classrooms.

The purpose of the self-government reform was to intensify the social activity of students, create conditions for versatile activities, for self-realization and self-adaptation of the individual, for establishing links with out-of-school organizations.

The first result of the changes was the formation of the leadership team of the children’s school parliament. This made it possible to create conditions for the joint activities of the Parliament, children’s associations and the City School Parliament.

The structure of student government.

President

of the Children’s School Parliament