By Jane Milton
The Houlton United Methodist Church is holding Arts and Craft classes, Monday through Thursday, one week a month after school for ages eight and up.
We are trying to teach children different arts and crafts. Some of the classes have included sewing, knitting, making blankets, and cooking. We did gingerbread houses in December. In January, Paul Porter taught carpentry to the children. They made bird houses and small tool boxes. In February, we are very proud to have Bob Cowperthwaite coming from the Southern Aroostook Cultural Arts Project to teach drawing and art.
Everything is so high tech that we came to the conclusion that children should learn arts and crafts – things our parents and grandparents taught us and we take as second nature.
You really stop and think about it: Everything is an art or a craft. From a small project, a child may find his or her life’s work. We have had great success with this program. We started with two children and have grown to 17 children. They seem to be really having fun, including myself and my helpers.
The classes are free to all. All we ask for is occasionally some supplies from each child and maybe a snack, every now and again, for the children. Classes run from September to May, with the summer off and they will start back up next September. Children are brought to HUMC by their school buses and can be returned home by the HUMC van or picked up by a parent or other designated adult.
The next set of classes will run from February 4 through February 7. If anyone is interested in participating or has a talent that they would like to teach to the children, please contact the Houlton United Methodist Church at 532-3332.