Eye on the Esplanade: Exercising imaginations on PD Days
By Dayna Walls on December 27, 2019.
Growing up, I always enjoyed my time at school. It was where I could fill my days with new and exciting things to learn and create. While I was one of those kids that actually enjoyed homework (for the most part), I understand that not every part of school is always enjoyable for every child. Like many, sometimes my favorite part of school, was time off from school! With our PD Days we try to get the best of both worlds, combining the fun and more relaxed pace of a day off with guided learning and creative exploration opportunities. My favourite thing about our PD Days is that we are able to worry less about the clock and more about providing your child with the necessary tools to develop their self-expression and creativity. As a working parent, I can now see a different side to those much-anticipated days off from school – finding childcare or getting time off can be tough! At the Esplanade, we recognize this struggle. Our education team saw PD Days as a natural extension of our services. By offering arts programming to the community on both SD76 and MHCBE PD Days, we hope to help parents with the struggle of finding safe, affordable, quality childcare, and kids a fun day off with a chance to be creative. So what does a PD Day with us look like? With our unique PD Day offering, children get the benefit of multiple community based learning resources in one program. In the morning, children will explore the Esplanade Art Gallery and take part in play-based projects where they can exercise their imaginations, while developing their creative thinking and problem-solving skills. In the afternoon, we walk kids across the street to the Hive Artists’ Hub where they have the opportunity to learn directly from professional practicing artists and create art works of their own in the studio! While our projects and spaces make this program special, our arts instructor Julie Downey-Hogland will ensure that each child has a positive experience. Equipped with a post-secondary education in both social work and fine art, she is passionate about inspiring children to achieve their full potential and to have fun while doing it! Julie has extensive experience working with children and youth of all ages and abilities. She has been creating a warm and inclusive learning space as an arts instructor at the Esplanade since June 2018 and we are very lucky to have her! For more information on our PD Day programs, please visit http://esplanade.ca/education/education-current-upcoming/2019/08/2019-20-pd-days/. Dayna Walls is education coordinator at the Esplanade. 7-6
