#MakeitforMay 2021 is over and I wanted to share with you some of my creative experiences this past month.
Week 1 – Visual Arts Week
I tried my hand at Pebble Painting and got some of the kids at work involved as well! I’m currently on my year abroad in Italy working in primary schools so I decided to create a lesson plan around words of kindness and creative modes of expression. Over forty young people got involved and it was fantastic to see the smiles around the room when they exchanged their colourful rocks.
Week 2 – Technology
I’m realising more and more that technology is not my creative strongpoint but I challenged myself to play around with the website canva to create some cool graphics for independent and university projects! I also worked on learning to video edit as it’s a skill I’ve wanted to gain for a long time that I believe could be very useful in my personal, academic and work futures.
Week 3 – Movement
This week conveniently lined up with our ‘Can You #MakeIt ?’ campaign to raise 5k in May by doing something active. Our young ambassadors and staff got involved by running, cycling and walking, all to raise money to support the young people of Reading.
I decided to use the app Strava to draw something using the ‘track route’ feature. No5 Young People are currently working with Reading Museum on the Reading Abbey WaterFest project. This year is the 900th anniversary of the Abbey’s construction so I decided to take an unusual looping route to draw the number 900 on Strava! During this walk, I explored a part of my village that I hadn’t ventured to before and also bumped into several colleagues and students of mine. I really enjoyed using this opportunity to notice details I wouldn’t normally by doubling back on myself!
Week 4 – Nature
This final week, I’ve been working on appreciating nature and using its calming qualities to calm myself. Like all students everywhere, May is an intensely challenging month with assignments and exams so I’ve found that taking myself for a short walk and admiring the natural beauty around me has worked wonders to calm my anxieties and ground me ready for my next study session.
By Jemma Stephens – Young Ambassador
