Hockey, gymnastics or opera?
[attach]1021[/attach]Tania Tomilko keeps her kids busy.
Her three kids, Matthew Peters, 7, Michael Peters, 5, and Sarah Peters, 3, are enrolled in extra-curricular activities including hockey, lacrosse, t-ball, soccer, swimming, dance, gymnastics and skating.
But it’s the more unconventional, Saturday morning program at the Royal Ontario Museum she thinks her children really benefit from.
“(Teachers) are doing their best to cover everything everyday, but they don’t always get the entertaining, fun part of school,” said Tomilko.
At the ROM’s weekend program she said they’ve studied about ancient Egypt and medieval times and have made everything from model pyramids and mummified plasticine cats to creating their own coats of arms and puppet shows — all while being immersed in the museum’s artefacts.
“I thought it was an interesting balance to their other, more athletic activities,” said Tomilko. “It’s a more cerebral, historical and artistic activity for them to do on a level I think they just can’t get in schools right now.”
Also providing children with access to lessons they otherwise wouldn’t get in the school or home, is Whimz, a program that allows children to interact with small animals, like rabbits, lizards, chinchillas and hedgehogs.
Owner Tracy Guerin said the Whimz program, while teaching grade-school children about the animals’ classification, habitats and diets, they also learn to respect the creatures and environments they live in.
She adds the science-based program is great for animal-loving students who aren’t able to have pets at home.
“They’re learning about the natural world in a time where computers and televisions are so prominent,” said Guerin. “This is so far from that.”
Activities that cater to a more niche market also offer kids also have the opportunity to meet others with their shared interest.
After school programs also act as a social outlet for kids, said Daniella Marchese, the programming manager for the education and outreach department at the Canadian Opera Company.
The company’s children’s program, which introduces 7–12 year olds the basics of opera and performs an original production, teaches more than just opera. The program does character building exercises and builds group dynamic through playing opera-themed games.
When opera is broken down into the elements and the children are given the opportunity to sing, help design sets, and collaborate on a production, they are quite quick to embrace the art, Marchese said.
“(Opera) no longer this scary thing with a woman with a horned hat screaming on stage,” she said.