Glimpses of Ashrang: Students in after school classes

Dikshya makes a paper rhododendron in after school art class 

A lot of students stayed back at school for extra hour to do art and science stuffs. We had regular meets where students did paintings, paper crafts, made science projects and had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures of the work.

Bibek and Bishal open a cassette player to see what is inside

Bishal paints mini hydropower generator 

We had a club to explore electronics. Students opened up old radio, cassette players and torch lights to explore. I explained what each component was called and its role in general. I remember when as I a child I used to open telephone sets to see where the voices came from.

Yogesh giving finishing touches to his hand powered lighting system

The club met every week to share ideas and bring innovations they made, test it and get feedback. We worked on a number of projects like electric bell, hand powered lighting system and a hydro-power generator. Rohit built a model cable car and Yogesh designed a switching system which would allow user to sit in one place and move the cable car back and forth. Yogesh and Rohit came to Kathmandu with their projects to show it on a grand function. People were impressed with their effort.

A year after I had left the school Rohit did a solo exhibition of the projects he made. Really proud of my students.

Dikshya paints Nepali national flag on a wall in her classroom

Basanti adding borders on the Nepali national flag

Wall paintings aren't generally allowed in schools. But I feel students get ownership of the classroom when they put effort on decorating it. So I asked them what they wanted to draw on their wall. Students wanted to draw national flags. Cool idea: 3 colors, geometry and something to be proud of.

Sabina and her friends are cutting papers to make a box for the class

As a part of integrating maths and arts with hands on activity I ran a session on making paper boxes. We had scissors, papers, glue and scale. Students had to figure out the measurement and cuts. After doing that they measured, drew outlines and cut the paper. At the end they glued the ends and folded it into boxes (not shown here).

Grade four students are collaborating on an art project

A cool paper flower hanging on grade four classroom

Once a week I used to take a class in grade four. It was an arts class. Students waited for whole week to be in the class because they got to play with papers and colors and sing songs. On one particular day we made a beautiful flower and hung it on the wall to remind us to remain cheerful throughout the week. They loved it so much they hung it for the entire year.

Students use bamboo to make baskets in their classroom

Boys busy tying bamboos while Roshan checks if he got some of it in his nails

Bishal shows off his skills in bamboo weaving

Bamboo weaving is an art and a traditional skill only a handful of people know. The job requires identifying right size of bamboo and skill to cut the bark with a clean maneuver of hands. It also requires a lot a patience and dedication. I learnt bamboo weaving(some bits and pieces of it) from a master craftsman in our village and shared some skills with my students. Turns out Bishal knows quite a lot about weaving. So, I let him do the instructing.

Few student made art and craft on the classroom wall

Even though our walls were weak and beaten up, our spirits were soaring high. We did as much as we could to make learning fun and meaningful for the children. After-school classes focused on building interest in creating and making. The work wasn't judged with grades so the students were expressive. I am a strong advocate of incorporating such activities within the school time so that children don't have to stay for extra hour to have fun and learning at the same time.