I don’t know about you, but my kids have been missing their extracurricular activities. We managed an easy switch to Zoom music classes, but they are sad about their loss of theatre group and dance. Since the pandemic started I’ve been looking for activities online, and we’ve tried cooking, painting and drawing.

Good Morning Creative Arts and Preschool recently reached out to us to let us know about their virtual art classes for kids, and my 8 year-old joined in last week for their weekly class (Thursdays at 5pm). Here’s our review!

First, a little bit about the organization: Good Morning Creative Arts and Preschool (GMCAPS) is a parent-run cooperative organization with a volunteer board staffed by parents. They have facilities on First Avenue, but like most organizations, their programming has been significantly impacted by the pandemic.

During the shutdown, teacher Karen started "Kids Create with Karen" to help parents keep children busy with worthwhile activities. It ended up being a fun, all-ages class, and a great way to connect with both alumni and new young artists! All art projects can be completed using basic art supplies - things like crayons, watercolour paints, pencils, oil pastels, and card stock paper. Kids as young as 3 have joined in, obviously with more parent support!

Other than logging into the Zoom meeting, my daughter didn’t need any help. She was warmly greeted and they got started as soon as everyone had joined in. What I loved about this class was that I didn’t need to worry about purchasing special art supplies. We had everything we needed in the kids regular craft bins!

The instructions were just the right pace for school-aged children. We pinned the video of the step-by-step instructions so that my daughter didn’t have to squint at a small screen. I also loved how they encouraged the kids to be creative….who needs a whole bunch of the same colour giraffe!? My daughter was very proud of her creation.

The other bonus? Cost! Just $10 a class, or you can purchase 10+1 free session for $100. All the registration details are here: http://www.gmcaps.com/programs.html#VirtualArt

I worried that the 5pm time wouldn’t work well for us, but it actually gave my daughter something to do while we were cooking, and by the time she was done we were ready to sit down to eat. It beat the regular scene at our house at 5pm, which is my kids whining that they’re STARVING.

If you’re interested in learning more about the organization, visit their website! They have a number of different programs, including Storyscapes for kids ages 3-6 and spots are availble in their preschool.

Disclaimer: I was provided 1 free pass for my daughter to try this art class, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.