Kilikkootam to enthral children

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For Arunima S Pillai, whose Class XII is set to begin, this will be her ‘last’ vacation camp. Her friends are toiling long hours in tuition classes, but she is sure she wants to be here, make merry and experience the magic of vacation camps one last time. She was at ‘Kilikkootam’, a summer camp, to experience childhood again.

“This won’t come back,” she said, nodding at the crowd of children milling about at the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare and the rare aura of happiness and joy permeating into each nook and cranny of the organisation. As the vacation camp started on Thursday, the organisation was steeped in fun and frolic, the area resonating with the cackles of the children. They have all teamed up to make the most of their vacation and take home good memories.

“I am aware I will be losing out on the time to prepare for exams. But I will never be able to experience these simple joys of childhood ever again. I am here to have fun,” says Arunima who studies at Christ Nagar School. Her thoughts are mirrored by the new set of friends she has made at the camp. Siddharth B L heaves a sigh of relief, now that he is done with the Class X exams. This is time for him to relax and enjoy. “This is my first time here and I am looking forward to making new friends and have fun,” says Siddharth. “We just met today morning and sort of ‘clicked’. We are looking to have a gala time here,” chimes in Isha Vineeth and Gouri Jayachandran. The sixth standard student Isha still vividly recalls how she had attended a camp here, years ago, when she was just five. “I would just run from one class to another. My interests kept changing. I am back now,” says an excited Isha.

The camp is organised by Kerala State Council for Child Welfare. The organisation has strung together a slew of activities to make the vacations interesting and eventful. The morning sessions will have the students learning their chosen art and music subjects. Classes in percussion instruments, keyboard, violin, drawing and music are being imparted to children on all days. The evening sessions will delve into diverse subjects.

“There is also a stress on breaking gender barriers at the programme. Interactions with several noted personalities in the social milieu will be held on a regular basis. The children will also be taught kite making and we will take them to the beach to let them fly their kites. We also intend to add swimming lessons too,” said Pradeep Attukal, who coordinates the event.   Programmes to promote Malayalam among the children have also been charted out. Titled ‘Madhuram Malayalam’ and ‘Amma Malayalam’, the programme envisages fostering the love of language among the children.

Sessions on the art of reading books, science in daily life, crafting toys from waste materials and coconut palm leaves, astronomy, maths, media, rights and laws for the welfare of children, acting, electronics, clay modelling and so forth will be held at the camp. This year, the organisation has added classes in magic, badminton, chess, yoga and carrom.Around 180 children have enrolled themselves in the programme which will be on until May 22.

Activities galore

Sessions on art and music subjects figure in the list. There will also be sessions on the art of reading books, science, crafting toys from waste materials and coconut palm leaves, astronomy, maths, media, rights and laws for the welfare of children, acting, electronics, clay modelling, magic, badminton, chess, yoga and carrom