From Madhubani to Vedic mathematics,children can learn a lot this summer.Here are the workshops in town Children dont have it easy even during summer hols. They can dump their schoolbags under the bed,but there is always some learning to be done. Instead of simple maths,they have Vedic maths to deal with; in place of physics is robotics. But workshops in the city are trying to make it as much fun as possible for the young ones. That's aLovely Painting Art workshops are coming up all over the town. Artist Sonika Agarwal is doing the rounds of art stores to purchase material for workshops through May and June. Children are free from the pressure of academics,so this time can be used to pursue fun activities, says Agarwal. Registrations will soon begin for her two-day workshops in art and craft at Select Citywalk,Saket,India Habitat Centre,Lodi Road,and DLF Promenade,Vasant Kunj. Children in the age group of 5 to 12 can learn clay modelling,papier mache and even Madhubani art,among others. Well teach them the basics, says Agarwal. A workshop costs Rs 500. If your child is picking up wastepaper and cardboard instead of paintbrush and crayon,dont be alarmed. Making sense out of scrap is an art and Dinesh Malik,education officer at the National Science Centre,Pragati Maidan,promises to convert cardboards into splendid submarines. Next month,he will hold five-day workshops where he will teach 12-to-14-year-olds how to create art from trash. If you want your child to gaze at canvases and learn some serious painting,then the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) will introduce students to the basics of art and use its vast collection to explain and illustrate the points. The best of artwork will be showcased, says Sujata Parsai,programme officer,NGMA. Priced at Rs 500,the 10-day workshop will be conducted for three batches divided into age groups of 5-8,9-12 and 13-17 years. For those who prefer weekend classes,the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) will hold one every Saturday at the Vadehra Gallery,DLF Emporio. Conducted by art historian Nidhi Khurana,a two-hour session costs Rs 500. Anu Bajaj will celebrate the opening of her gallery Art Positive at Lado Sarai on May 11 with a series of workshops,each costing Rs 5,000. Children above 8 years can attend painting workshops by artist Nupur Kundu and those over 13 can go for photography classes by Sandeep Biswas. Play With Dolls:Anurupa Roy of Kat-Katha introduces kids to puppetry. Papier mache and plastic bottles will be used to make puppets and children will eventually write a story that will be presented as a puppet show at the end of the workshop. There is art and creative writing involved and children tend to enjoy working with puppets, says Roy. Nupur Awasthi Gaur will be using puppets to narrate folk tales in a storytelling session for 5-to-7-year-olds at the India Habitat Centre. There will be Panchatantra stories and Chinese folk tales, says Gaur. A four-day session will cost Rs 1,500. Added Fun:Can science and math be fun? Yes,says Tarun Bhalla. He is not bluffing to sell his workshop organised by Building Blocks. He will hold robotics classes for 11-to-15-year-olds,who will be given kits and taught to make models of tanks and robots. Through this,children can learn hydraulics,laws of motion and elements of computer science, says Bhalla. He has five-day workshops lined up in six centres,including the British Council,Small Wonder Playschool,Dwarka,and Brain Magic Academy,Pitampura. The session costs Rs 2,500. For basic lessons in science,5-to-9-year-olds can attend a five-day workshop at Epicentre,Gurgaon. Simple experiments will be conducted to teach concepts, says instructor Anita Dhawan. Charges are Rs 1,400. Muhammed Faisal,meanwhile,promises to make kids fall in love with numbers with Vedic maths. It can help children calculate faster and will make geometry easier, he says. His five-day workshop for 5-to-14-year-olds is conducted in association with Katha and costs Rs 850. Go Play,Child:For young actors,the National School of Drama (NSD) has a theatre workshop that concentrates on improving interpersonal and communication skills. The month-long workshop,for 8-to-16-year-olds,costs Rs 500,and will be held at seven centres,including DAV Public School,Vikaspuri,Amity International,Vasundhara,and Hillgrove Public School,Safdurjung. Pet project:There is something for animal lovers too. People for Animals is organising a workshop at Select Citywalk where 10-to-16-year-olds will be taught how to treat animals. The 10-day workshop costs Rs 4,000. Want a bit of everything? Pallavanjali School in Gurgaon has an 18-day workshop for 5-to-12-year-olds,priced at Rs 4,000. The curriculum includes art,yoga,creative writing,dance and personality development. This ensures that the interest of all is catered to and children can pick up additional skills, says Shaloo Sharma,head of the school. Contact: NSD: 23389054; Habitat World: 43663080/90; Epicentre: 0124-2715000; NGMA: 23384640; Faisal: 9313974850; Building Blocks: 9810549989; Pallavanjali: 9810602787; Art Positive: 41602545; FICA: 9910269205; Select Citywalk: 9654339925; National Science Centre: 23371893
