Jan 25, 20222 min read

Our International Gold Awardee, Sophie Van Meurs

Updated: Aug 25, 2023

Congratulations to Sophie Van Meurs for claiming an international Gold award from the 52nd World School Children's Art Exhibition organised by The Republic of China, Taiwan.

It's through an Emergent Curriculum where Sophie came up with the idea for her artwork. There were a couple of themes where classes had been allocated but of course, there's always an option of having their own themes where they find suitable. I remember there was a discussion and exchange of ideas initially and although the class seemed to be very convinced about working on a particular theme, Sophie had her eyes set on the rain outside. Sophie has always been outspoken yet mischevious and that's where she led her class into a discussion about playing in the rain. There were many storybooks that we used to read about of scenes playing in the rain and we discussed about our own experiences and the people involved, etc. We looked up some pictures and videos and we just wanted to relive that moment. Everyone became really enthusiastic about drawing themselves, their family and friends playing in the rain and this is where magic happens.

Children to adults, we have observed, the opportunity for bright ideas and creativity is always available if we provide the openness for it and we are really glad that parents believe in our unique approach to teaching art, providing the time and space for children to have discussions, brainstorming sessions and documentations of divergent thoughts, etc. The creative process matters significantly for a rich outcome of an art work and we have always held on to this belief!