Note: More media content is available for this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Vanessa Ogle
Brooklyn Daily
These students add color to the world!
The Family Arts Day at the Connie Lekas School on Oct. 25 in Sheepshead Bay gave students with special needs and their families a chance to create colorful crafts — such as paintings, balloon animals, and sand art — at the semiannual event, a parent said.
“It was time for the kids to get along and kids to meet other kids with disabilities,” said Rebecca Davila, whose 19-year-old daughter, Naomi Gomez, has special needs.
The fall and spring Family Arts Day began about five years ago as a chance for kids — and parents — to get out of their homes and participate in safe and structured activities, like painting, singing, dancing, said a school administrator.
“A lot of times our students don’t really go anywhere,” said Kathy Santana, the assistant principal at Connie Lekas School. “We try to get the parents to bring them out and socialize.”
Santana said the day was also a time for the kids to show their parents their artistic endeavors, such as singing and dancing that they practice during the school day.
“We have choir at the school — we also have a theatre arts program,” she said. “That was a time to see what the kids are doing when they’re at school.”
And if any parents missed the fall festivities, they’ll have another chance to craft with their kids in the spring.
“We have one again towards Cinco de Mayo,” said Santana. “We encourage all parents to come out.”