Homeschooled youth are invited to join us
at the Lyceum for two four week sessions that are guaranteed to get them thinking and to get their thoughts on paper. In
each session, we will explore a selection of sophisticated picture books around
issues that nurture curiosity and provoke reflective thinking in young minds.
Students will be given provocations inspired by the literature shared with the
group and then asked to express themselves in the medium of their choice, with
a focus on the written word. This is a unique opportunity for your children to
engage in challenging ideas, and express their own ideas in the company of
their peers.
September 21 to October 12
Morning Session: Tuesdays 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Journaling and Drawing Our Way Through the Neighbourhood
What makes up a neighbourhood? Each student will be given a journal to write and sketch in as we journey around our community and chronicle meaningful landmarks. We will stop in at businesses and learn a little of their history, documenting as we go and gather a collection of artifacts which will help us retell the stories that we hear. Even if you live far away, getting to know one urban district sets the base for learning about others. We hope that this program will help students develop a curiosity about the people and places around them, and a keen eye for observing both the ordinary and unusual.
*you do not have to have participated in our previous explorations of perspective to enroll in this workshop
Afternoon Session: Tuesday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Western Birds and Whimsical Shadow Boxes Get to know the birds in your backyard! In this workshop we’ll identify birds, and sketch them in words and images. Each student will use these initial sketches and notes to create further art studies and creative writing pieces in the days to come. We’ll bring it all together on the final day by making an intricate and beautiful shadow box integrating words and images through collage.
October 19 to November 9
Morning Session: Tuesday 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Getting a Sense of Self and Biography
Each class will begin with the biography of an individual who has overcome challenges to make a meaningful contribution to humanity. Students will be guided to note how illustrators have portrayed characteristics of strength in their subjects. Using mirrors, students will create many representations of their reflected image, culminating in a large self-portrait created on canvas with acrylics.
Afternoon Session: Tuesday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Four Mini Publishing Projects
Four publishing projects in four days? Is it even possible? It is, when you think up new and creative ways to present your writing. Each day, students will be encouraged to create a new piece of writing, take it through the editing process and then publish it on everything from poetry bracelets to mulberry paper lanterns. Students who attend this class will produce four pieces of writing they’ll be proud to share, and four unique ways to share them.
November 16 to December 7
Morning Session: Tuesday 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM Contemporary Fairy Tales Inspire Contemporary Art
Over the course of four sessions, students will explore their identity as visual artists through literature provocations. Many children know the traditional fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen and Charles Perrault, but have missed out on the wealth of fabulous contemporary fairy tales that grace library shelves. Books like The Goblin and the Empty Chair, The King’s Equal, Dragon Feathers and The Red Wolf are absolute treasures that beg to be shared and discussed in a group. Using these books as inspiration, students will have an opportunity to work with a variety of paints, collage and sculpting materials.
Afternoon Session: Tuesday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Mosaic and the Minotaur
Students will engage in an in-depth study of Doris Orgel’s telling of the Greek myths surrounding the Minotaur. Using the illustrated novella Ariadne Awake! as our starting place, we’ll discuss themes of betrayal, heroism, persistence and loyalty. Then, inspired by the myth, its characters and our own discussions, students will create a mosaic paving stone, which can be inserted into their home gardens as a special memory of our time together. Families with more than one child, can leave our workshop with an entire mosaic pathway!
What makes up a neighbourhood? Each student will be given a journal to write and sketch in as we journey around our community and chronicle meaningful landmarks. We will stop in at businesses and learn a little of their history, documenting as we go and gather a collection of artifacts which will help us retell the stories that we hear. Even if you live far away, getting to know one urban district sets the base for learning about others. We hope that this program will help students develop a curiosity about the people and places around them, and a keen eye for observing both the ordinary and unusual. 
