Summer fun for kids in metro Manila

If you aren't going out of town, summer vacation is the perfect time to mix fun and learning. Before, summer activities usually meant joining a sports clinic or some similar way to keep the kids active. But now, there's a summer workshop for every kind of personality, from little artists to little chefs. Summer means less engagements, and your relatively empty calendar is just begging to be filled up. Workshops are a good way to keep the kids busy and happy; they'll hardly notice you didn't go to the beach this year. For a different kind of art workshop, try the WeeWillDoodle course. If your kid's notebooks have more drawings than notes, you can encourage their creativity by entrusting them to like-minded artists. WewillDoodle is an artists' collective that believes in spontaneity, drawing now and asking questions later. "It encourages kids to start from somewhere," says Doodling Instructor Nelz Yumul.

If getting your hands dirty sounds like fun, the Clay Avenue Summer Pottery workshop for kids, teens, and adults is right up your alley. It might even be therapeutic. The transformative process is not only external but internal as well, according to Teacher Mia Casal. "I hope that it will somehow find its way into your heart, and fill your senses with the satisfaction that can be found in being one with this workable earthy material," says Casal, a Manila-based potter who has joined pottery exhibits in the Philippines and in New York. For little Einsteins, the Gakken Science Experiment Classroom has an exciting offering of experiment-rich programs for inquisitive seven- to nine-year olds like Amazing Air, Secret of Magnets, Fascinating Sound, and The Force of Air Vortex and Pressure. For kids older than ten, they have Fascinating Experiments on Atmospheric Pressure, Astonishing Experiments with Food, and Fun with Batteries and Electricity. Because the experiments make use of familiar objects, even very young children can appreciate the lessons. For the little thespian, the Philippine Educational Theater Association's Children Theater Workshop enables children to experience music, movement and dance, puppetry, storytelling, drama improvisation, poetry, and writing. PETA also has advanced theater workshops. PETA's creative processes include games, encouraging imagination, self-confidence, and an appreciation of both self and others, nature and culture. The PETA workshop has two categories, one for six to eight year-olds, and one for nine to twelve year-olds. For little bookworms who want to make their own books, the Adarna House has its Klasrum Adarna Workshops for kids. Thirteen- to sixteen year-olds can create their own character studies and narrative lines in the Short Story Writing Workshop from April 25 to 29. Nine to twelve year-olds will learn to create studies, build storyboards, and use different styles, trends and techniques in the Book Illustration Workshop from May 9 to 13. For little photographers, The Filipinas Heritage Library has a specially designed workshop for seven- to twelve year-olds. Semi-professional photographer Dennis Balangue will teach the kids about exposure, composing and designing photographs, basic camera parts, and different shooting applications. The one-day workshop will be held on May 21. For kids who like hanging around the kitchen, Enderun's Little Chef classes will equip seven- to ten year-olds with hands-on food preparation skills. Flourless chocolate cake, choco earth-shake, indespicable cupcakes and a cheesy potato volcano are on the menu, among other tasty-sounding treats. Chef Angelica Soriano will not only teach the little chefs how to cook, but also impart lessons on good nutrition, healthy lifestyles, and kitchen safety. If your child's Spanish is limited to whatever Dora the Explorer says, perhaps Instituto Cervantes' Spanish for Children summer program will interest you. Learning a second language not only enhances mental skills, but develops an awareness of other countries and cultures as well. The program engages children, enabling them to acquire Spanish naturally while exploring their world through playful interaction. Children as young as six years old can enroll in the program, which is scheduled thrice a week. Instituto Cervantes' extensive collection of multimedia and creative teaching aids like movies, books, and music are available to help the students. - YA, GMA News