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Acrylic Painting: the Beginners Guide

With acrylic painting, you got the best of both worlds! They dry fast like watercolors do since they are water-soluble and unlike oil paintings, they retain their glory even after years have passed. They also dry insoluble, remain flexible and aren’t brittle like oil paintings. Since they dry fast, it may be a tad difficult for beginners who don’t get much time to mix and manipulate the wet point. Acrylic can be used opaquely or with water or media based on the transparency you need. Acrylic is relatively a newcomer with its advent only in the 1950’s, much later than the materialization of oils and watercolors. Acrylic Painting has gained popularity since then and is now commonly taught in drawing classes for adults as well as kids.

Here are some Acrylic Painting Tips:

  • Due to their water-soluble properties, cleaning up involves no harmful solvents. Most acrylics have a small amount of formaldehyde or similar components to prevent mold growth on them. This might be allergic to some people.
  • They dry pretty easily, making it difficult for people in dry climates to paint using them. Painting in layers are much easier with acrylics.
  • Acrylic paintings are compatible with a variety of mediums such as glossy medium, pumice stone gel, matte acrylic patenting gel, crackle paste and thus produce textures and surfaces of different kind.
  • To create a strong current of color, a dry brush and undiluted paint will do. This produces uneven lines but can be used effectively for a painterly effect.
  • When diluted, they act somewhat like watercolors but are permanent in nature.  Translucent washes can applied with the same. Mixing dry and wash brushes can create wonders on a single piece.
  • Stippling is a technique that creates a constellation/ assemblage of tiny dots which is a great way to show texture and create intriguing effects with different shades of the same color.
  • Splattering is the technique in which one flicks or splatter wet paint on a surface for an uneven splatter effect. It’s perfect for illustrating an abstract landscape or a starry night or simply to add texture to any piece.
  • Dabbing is yet another effective technique for adding textures. Using the corner of a sponge or a piece of paper towel you can dab on color blotches. Dabbing adds movement, like the one needed to depict the movement of trees or rustling of leaves.
  • For an artsy effect, one can opt for a palette knife. Even though it may appear complex, even beginners can easily get accustomed to it. Taking spreading Nutella on bread as a reference, you can easily get used to this technique. Simply scrap a bit of paint using the palette knife and apply it on the work surface ad let your imagination fly.

Ocean Kids, Dubai can nurture your child’s drawing skills. Our experienced trainers provide the best art/ drawing classes in Dubai and teach them everything from the dots, lines, hatching to creating wonderful landscapes, portraits and other everything around us. We also have dance classes, music classes, karate classes and yoga classes for your kids.

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Let’s Start Yoga From the Early Ages

Yoga is an Intangible cultural interchange! Originating back in India, Yoga (meaning union or yoke) is the practice of accessing and integrating all aspects of our true nature — body, mind, and spirit — in the pursuit of inner harmony.

Non-competitive

It’s always about the completion these days. Why not get your child into a physical exercise that involves no competition? Yoga tells kids that each of our bodies are entirely different from the other and that’s okay. There is no one better or worse at Yoga; yoga lets kids explore their bodies and embrace it. “Yoga is truly for everybody.” It also sends a message of self-acceptance and teaches kids to love themselves.

 Calmness & Tolerance

Young kids can be seen crying and throwing tantrums. Yoga involves meditation and meditating minds in turn are calm and composed. Yoga preaches of love, peace, tolerance and a happier place for everyone to live through respect and compassion towards one another.

 Breathe & Focus

Breathing exercises can energize kids or encourage relaxation. Yoga consists of different breathing exercises that enhance breathing and lung capacity. Inhaling deeply cleanses the lungs, reduces anxiety and slows down the heart rate. Yoga practice from the early ages improves your chance of fighting off diseases at later ages.  In a world full of distractions, yoga helps us to be mentally present, concentrate and focus on our tasks.

Flexibility and Fitness:

Yoga promotes physical strength because kids learn to use all of their muscles in new ways. As positions vary from standing to sitting to lying down or other intricate angles, each one challenges various muscle groups as the child become aware of his body and how it efficiently functions.

Self-awareness

While guiding their bodies through different poses, children learn more about their bodies and capabilities. They also learn about the power of one’s mind and how it can affect not only their attitude and outlook on life but also those around them. When the body, mind and spirit is connected, one can truly attain what he/she desires.

Mental health

Yoga encourages healthy habits. An exercise program begun in childhood aids kids to remain physically active and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Yoga takes it a step further by teaching not only the healthy habits mentioned above, but also a healthier approach to eating and the ability to calm oneself and focus the mind. When children learn to accept and love themselves for who they are, they are able to focus and calm their minds, see the good in others, learn tools for resilience and discover their innate capabilities. Yoga teaches and moreover encourages children to relax. Since children are pressurized to be engaged and productive, Yoga provides that much needed space for the mind to slow down and settle.

It’s never too late to join a yoga class. Enroll yourself or your kids in our yoga classes in Dubai to strengthen the connection between the body and mind. Practise yoga under the guidance of our skilled instructors for a better present and tomorrow. We also provide other exciting courses for both kids and adults such a dance and music classes in Dubai, karate classes and more. We provide flexible timings so that our students can learnt at their convenience.

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Leonardo Da Vinci: More Than Just an Artist

Leonardo was born out of wedlock to Caterina, a peasant, and Ser Piero, a lawyer and landlord. He was home schooled and lacked formal education in Greek and Latin. Da Vinci is commonly regarded as “Universal Genius” or “Renaissance Man” due to his excellent skills and contributions in various fields which include invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, music, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography.

  • He was an accomplished lyre player. He was first presented at the Milanese court as a musician and not as an artist or inventor.
  • Andrea Del Verrocchio, Da Vinci’s teacher once asked him to draw a painting of an angel. Da Vinci’s drawing was so good that his master decided to never paint again.
  • Da Vinci wasn’t a man who finished and turned over his work in time. He has had track records wherein he accepted payment or parts of it without completing the original piece. The Adoration of The Magi is one such painting which hangs in Uffizi Gallery in Florence despite being unfinished.
  • Da Vinci was an avid writer. Thousands of pages (roughly 6000 pages) were left behind by him. His writings were illegible as he used mirror script, which means he started on the right side of the page and moved to the left. Many speculate that this was more of a prevention mechanism so that people wouldn’t steal his ideas. Some also believe that this way of writing came easier to a left hander.
  • Leonardo, being ambidextrous could also draw forward with one hand while writing backward with the other.
  • Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa “the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world” was analyzed using a face-recognition software by the researchers at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Illinois and it was found out that the Mona Lisa is 83% happy, 9% disgusted, 6% fearful, and 2% angry. It now sits behind a six-foot bulletproof barrier at the Louvre Museum in Paris, where it has been kept for more than 200 years.
  • Leonardo had a thing for water. He had developed plans for floating snowshoes, a breathing device for underwater exploration, a life preserver, and a diving bell that could attack ships from below.
  • His contributions towards Science were numerous. They include explaining the blue colour of the sky and the dim visibility of the entire moon when it is a thin crescent.
  • Leonardo dug into graveyards at night to steal corpses and study human anatomy.
  • Leonardo was a strict vegetarian. He was also against keeping birds and animals caged. He would simply buy caged animals to set them free.

To bring out the Da Vinci in you, enroll yourself or your child in our exciting art classes in Dubai. We teach you art from our palette of experiences so that you can paint a colorful life ahead. We teach you how to colour and paint with pencils, pastel, water colours, gauche and acrylic to bring life to your drawings. Join Ocean Kids to learn drawing portraits, landscapes and more.

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Bharatanatyam: the Classical Indian Dance Form

Bharatanatyam is one of the ancient and most prominent of Indian dance forms. This exemplary art brings forth Hindu religious themes and spiritual ideas to life when performed by an expressive dancer with dexterous hands and feet. Based on ‘Natya Shastra’, Bharatanatyam is repertoire of nrita, nritya and natya and other forms. Bharatanatyam Evolution and Timeline:

  • Bharatanatyam is a portmanteau of ‘Bharata’ and Natyam’ where  ‘Bharata’ is a mnemonic comprising ‘bha’, ‘ra’ and ‘ta’ which respectively means ‘bhava’- emotion and feelings; ‘raga’-melody; and ‘tala’-rhythm and Natyam means dance in Sanskrit.
  • It is said that the sage Bharata inscribed Bharatanatyam in the Natya Shastra through Lord Brahma who revealed it. In the Natya Shastra, dance is mainly divided into two forms, ‘nrita’ and ‘nritya’ where the latter refers to expressive dance with hand gestures, body postures, movements and facial expressions while the former speaks of pure dance that is rhythmic, aesthetic and decorative. Natya Shastra also describes many other Indian classical dances intricately along with their postures, bhavas, rasa and more.
  • Bharatanatyam carvings could be seen in Ancient Hindu Temples. Lord Shiva in poses of Bharatanatyam adorned the temple walls, especially in the South Indian Region. Some popular sculptures include the Karanas sculpture in Tamil Nadu where Lord Shiva depicts 108 poses of Bharatnatyam. The Tandava dance of the Nataraja sculpture the Badami cave in Karnataka is also has also attracted crowds.
  • Bharatanatyam is said to have close with Devadasis, the temple dancers who date back to 300 BCE to 300 CE. The Devadasi culture soon became an inherent part of the South Indian rituals.
  • The emergence of British colonial rule in the 19th century brought out a decline in various dance forms along with being mocked and ridiculed at. Such dancers were also disgraced by Christian Missionaries and British officials and finally banned in 1910.
  • The Tamilians vowed to bring back Bharatanatyam, a dance form which was simply persecuted on the pretext of social reforms. Many classical revivalists questioned such discriminations and some were also imprisoned for the same. Meanwhile, dancers also came from abroad to study Bharatanatyam. As the Indian freedom movement progressed during the early 20th century, Indians fought to bring back its culture and traditions. Finally, prominent dancers like Arundale and Balasarswati promulgated the temple dance form to the mainstream arena where it was quick to capture people’s attention. Since then, Indians and even foreigners have developed a strong affinity to the dance form.

Bharatanatyam is an interesting dance from that is now being practiced in various parts of the world due to its aesthetic appeal. For the best Bharatanatyam dance class Dubai for adults and kids alike, enroll at Oceans Kids, Dubai. We teach various other dance forms such as salsa, hip hop, western, contemporary, Bollywood, freestyle, jive, ballroom dance etc. Come and sway to the rhythm of dance with us. Contact Us at +971 505987143

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Let’s Blend Education With Entertainment

Being a responsible parent, imparting quality education to our kids is one among the few factors that top our priority list. But kids need to be refreshed too. Why don’t we dab some extra-curricular and co-curricular activities to their drab life and make it entertaining?

Mix Education and Entertainment and give it to them as early as possible.

If mixed right and introduced as early as possible, a good balance between education and entertainment is developed in the child from the childhood itself. It would do best if you realize your child’s innate talents and foster them as early as possible. Do not force your child to learn an art they aren’t interested in. Find an activity that they like: Some options include music classes, dancing classes and drawing classes.

Set separate timings for education and co-curricular activities. The kids can go to school and study during the day and can indulge in extra-curricular activities during the evening. Isn’t it better to devote time practicing something useful than spending hours on television and mobile phones?

Reward your child with incentives when they study hard enough and take time off for entertainment through playing, going for walks, drives, or having meals with together and so on. Similarly kids can utilize their leisure time by reading information-laden illustrative books from the library. Books are entertaining along with boosting vocabulary, linguistic prowess and knowledge.

Gradually, as kids grow up, let their education and entertainment intersect.

Extracurricular activities can be an excellent way of educating as well as entertaining kids. Extra- curricular activities, if found appealing can be cultivated into hobbies for a lifetime. Hobbies are more than things to kill time with. Do you know that hobbies have a positive impact when listed on CV’s?

Music, Dance, Arts and Crafts, Drama and Acting, Film Making, Modelling, Cooking and Baking Classes.. there are so many fun-filled activities your child can take up.

What is your child’s interest?  We, at Ocean Kids Dubai has dedicated panel of instructors for cultivating your child’s interest with yoga classes, dance classes for kids and adults, music classes, drawing classes, karate classes and other extra-curricular classes at Dubai. We also provide summer camps for your child to learn and explore at the same time. Let your kid stand a class apart from others. Call us at +971 505987143

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Why Should Your Child Join Karate Classes?

Pros of training your kids in Martial Arts like Karate No matter what the nature of your kid is, sending them to master the art of combat in a controlled environment will prove beneficial in the long run. Martial arts seek to strengthen the mind and train the body. Karate, the Japanese Martial Art is the most popular of them all. If you are searching for a reputed organization in Dubai for karate lessons for kids, Ocean Kids Dubai is the place to go. Along with Dance, Music, Art and Yoga, we also train the kids in Karate such that they learn the important principles of life. Self Defense: Learning Martial Arts can help your children defend themselves in hostile situations. This is the very reason that parents prompt their children to master any form of martial arts. The also help us build our reflexes and react to counter attacks. Self Confidence: Your kid’s confidence is boosted. A confident kid never gets picked up for bullying as bullies look for easily scared targets. This helps them in all areas, from academics to handling pressure. Handling Failures: Rome was not in a built in a day. Similarly, you may have to take many hits before you master the arts. Half of martial arts is hitting, but half is also getting hit. This also helps in teaching a valuable lesson in practical life. No matter how many times you fall, success lies in getting up after that. Discipline: This is an important virtue to cultivate in today’s youth. Since martial arts involve physical and mental discipline, mental-physical coordination is also achieved. Even though physical force is used against one another, there are certain rules and protocols to be followed. A child is taught to respect peers, opponents and colleagues. Staying Fit: Instead of sleeping, playing video games and staying hooked on the web, why don’t you engage your child in something useful? Child obesity is increasing rapidly these days. Martial Arts comprises of stretches, crunches, takedowns, grapples, punches, kicks and more. All these helps your kid stay in shape.
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Encouraging Creativity Through Music Classes for Kids

Children are usually fun loving and highly energetic and it’s up to the parents to direct this energy and enthusiasm into productive activities. Music is one of those things that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Both children and adults can all learn to love and appreciate music and there is no fixed age to introduce your children to music. Here are a few benefits of enrolling your child in music lessons.

  • Improves academic skills. The skills acquired from learning music carries through to other educational skills. For example it’s scientifically proven that music and math are closely linked. Music is known to bolster brain power and improve memory as well as developing language skills.
  • Develop fine motor skills. Learning to play an instrument can help develop fine motor skills through improved coordination and dexterity. For example learning to play a piano improves hand eye coordination and also improves concentration. All these important skills are useful for their daily lives.
  • Boosts confidence. Music education is known to develop self confidence in young children as well as providing a means for creative self-expression. Children learn to use constructive feedback to improve their music skills. It’s no wonder that music therapy has proven to be beneficial for children with developmental disorders.
  • Exposure to different cultures. By listening to different kinds of music and familiarizing themselves with different instruments from around the world, children are introduced to the role music plays in different cultures. This vastly broadens their mind and not mention, it’s fun!

With all these benefits, the importance of music education for young children cannot be stressed enough. Ocean Kids Dubai is a music and dance academy in Dubai, we provide comprehensive music lesson to kids with the help of our experienced and talented music teachers. We teach singing as well as several instruments such as guitar, piano and violin. For more information on our music classes for kids call +971 505987143

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Benefits of Summer Camp in Dubai – Ocean Kids

Schools out for the summer and your children have a lot of free time on their hands. For parents concerned about how to help their kids spend this time productively, consider sending them to a summer camp. Summer camps are a fun way for children to spend time with their peers and engage in active learning. What parents probably don’t realize is that in addition to having fun, camps are a great place for learning as well. Here are a few of the many benefit of sending your kids to a summer camp

  • A place to develop social skills and make friends. Camps include a lot of group activities that allow for positive interaction with other children of the same age. Your kids can learn important life lessons like teamwork and leadership.
  • Boosting self-esteem and confidence. Camps provide a perfect environment for children, especially the shy ones, to step outside their comfort zone through exciting and fun challenges.
  • Physical activities that boost health. Instead of spending time during the summer holidays watching TV or playing video games all day your kids get a chance to engage in physical games with their peers.
  • Education even in the summer – Camps are a great place for children to learn important things outside of the usual classroom environment. Children learn coordination, creativity and problem solving through the various activities at camp.

Ocean Kids provides exciting summer camps in Dubai for children with a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities. Some of the activities we engage in include dance, music, karate, art and craft, non-fire cooking, swimming and many more fun and age appropriate activities. Other Ocean Kids camps include winter and spring camp. Our camp employs trained teachers who have many years working with kids of all ages. Enroll your kids this summer!

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