ESSO in Action
Bored on a Sunday afternoon? Want to have fun with your friends while also spending time with little children from the Exeter community? Well, if that sounds like you, then come join Kids Create! Kids Create is an awesome club that meets every Sunday from 4-5 p.m. in the basement of Agora. We make fun arts and crafts like paper plate animals, straw flowers and holiday cards.
Kids Create has been my favorite hour of the week for the past two years. I am always really stressed out on Sunday afternoons after having done hours of homework, writing papers and studying for tests. But the moment the kids start coming into the room excited to see us, I forget about the stress and schoolwork and just engage in their contagious cheerfulness. The kids are 5-8 years old and they “worship” PEA students. My wall is filled with drawings and crafts with my name on them from the kids each week.
The kids love art and it’s amazing to guide them a little and mostly leave them free to do their thing. Their imagination and creativity always makes my day, but what makes my day even more are the hugs and their requests for me to play airplane with them. They ask me to tie ribbons for their crafts and they are always amazed at how pretty some things I draw are.
One time a girl named Iva, five years old, with dimples on her cheeks and curly hair, was trying to make a clay figurine of a puppy, because she loves puppies. She made three little puppies, and called them “the Biggest, Mediumest and Smallest.” She proceeded to make a red heart and write my name on it. I keep the heart on my drawer and it makes me happy every time I see it.
It’s so heartwarming to see the kids’ letters and crafts, in their huge, squiggly handwriting, “To Kate” or “To Megi,” or to see them be creative and explore their imagination. The members are always really engaged and have a lot of fun, fostering relationships between the kids and us, while also helping them expand their creativity. Exonians can be too wrapped up in the Exeter bubble sometimes, and I think this club is a good way to cope with stress and hang out with little kids and devote your time to them! :)
We’d love for every single one of you to be apart of our club and this amazing community of children. If interested please contact either one of us at klu@exeter.edu or mtopalli@exeter.edu. Hope to see you guys with us soon!