Keep them making. Halloween is the most creative night of the year, and the energy is real. The costume comes off tonight, but the drawing, the performing, and the building do not have to stop. Four new classes pick up right where the candy trail ends.
Think about what your kid actually did this week. Not the candy. The rest of it. The planning. A kid who spends two weeks deciding between a vampire and a robot is doing real creative work. So is the kid who drew monsters all over the fridge, the one who carved the pumpkin, and the one who stayed in character all night at the party.
Then November arrives and it all goes in a box. The costume goes in the closet. The markers dry out. The energy evaporates, because it has nowhere to go.
That is the part we can fix. Creativity in kids is not a trait they either have or do not have. It is a habit, and habits need a next thing. I wrote about the research behind that here, in Born Creative: what the research says kids lose, and how they keep it. Kids keep the creativity they practice. Practice needs a place to happen.
So here is the handoff. Four classes, all new on Wimzee this month, each one catching a different piece of Halloween energy and carrying it into November.
1. The monster drawings
If your fridge is covered in monsters, start here.
All those drawings your kid made this week, the spooky ones, the silly ones, the ones you do not quite understand, are the raw material of comics. A comic is just a story told in drawn panels, and your kid has already started one without knowing it.
Israel Espinosa teaches Comic book creation, in group and individual sessions, on the process comic book creators follow when they build a story. Kids learn how a comic goes from an idea to finished panels: the drawing, the storytelling, and how the two fit together. The image above is from the class page, a hand-drawn guide to laying out panels. If your kid's monsters need somewhere to live, this is it.
See class times and book a spot in Comic book creation
2. The costume performance
Then there is the kid who did not just wear the costume. They became it. They stayed in character through dinner, scared the neighbors on purpose, and did not break until the candy was counted.
That kid was performing, and performing is a skill you can build.
Liz Huett teaches Stage Presence and Performance Coaching, one on one, for ages 6 to 18. Liz is a working artist with real credits: formerly signed to Interscope Records, six years as a songwriter with Warner Chappell in Nashville, songs recorded by Sara Evans and Jana Kramer, background vocals on Taylor Swift's tours and albums and in Kylie Minogue's Las Vegas residency. In class, kids work on connecting with an audience, bringing emotion into a song, and finding their own style in the spotlight. The Halloween performance was the audition. This is the callback.
See class times and book a spot in Stage Presence and Performance Coaching
3. The making itself
And do not forget the making. The pumpkin carving. The cardboard armor. The decorations taped to every window. Your kid spent hours building things this week, and that hands-on making is its own kind of thinking.
Kara Crowley teaches Art 101, a hands-on introductory art course for ages 10 to 18, in group and individual sessions of 60 to 90 minutes. Kids work through the seven elements of art, line, shape, form, color, value, texture, and space, using graphite pencils, colored pencils, oil pastels, and watercolor paints. Kara is a New Orleans native and Houston-based visual artist and arts educator with over eight years of teaching experience, a B.A. in Visual Art from Xavier University of Louisiana, and an MFA in progress at the University of Houston. The photo above is her classroom: real students, real making. If your kid built half of Halloween with their own hands, give those hands better tools.
See class times and book a spot in Art 101
4. The weekly habit
One more, for the littlest makers. A single creative night is great. A creative habit is better. The class that meets every week is the one that turns October's energy into something that lasts.
Ashley P teaches Free Art Fridays, a weekly group art class for ages 6 to 9. Each week brings something new: simple crafts, drawing prompts, seasonal projects, open-ended creations. Kids use basic supplies from home, paper, crayons, markers, paint, and there is no perfect picture they are supposed to make. The photo above is the kind of thing that comes out of it. If your youngest spent Halloween elbow-deep in glitter, this is their standing appointment with more of it.
See class times and book a spot in Free Art Fridays
The handoff
That is the handoff. The costume comes off tonight. The making stays.
On Tuesday we are rounding up classes for Thanksgiving week, so the November calendar keeps filling in. And if none of these four sounds like your kid, take the quiz. Four quick questions, one class picked for them. If you want the longer guide to picking the right fit, it is here: How to Choose a Creative Class Your Kid Will Actually Love.
What did your kid make this Halloween that surprised you?
Questions parents ask
My kid is wiped out after Halloween. Should we wait a few weeks before starting a class?
No need to wait, and no need to rush either. Book one class for sometime in November and let the start date be the plan. The energy is highest right now, and a date on the calendar keeps it from evaporating. One class a week is plenty.
What if my kid says they are only into the candy?
Totally fair. But the costume still took work, and that work counts. Show them the four class pages above and watch their face. If nothing clicks, take the quiz. Four questions, one recommendation. And if it still does not click, you learned something.
How do I choose between the four classes?
Match the class to what your kid did without being asked this week. Drew monsters: comics. Performed in costume: stage presence. Built and carved things: Art 101. Little one who just wants to make: Fridays. I wrote a longer version of this test here: How to Choose a Creative Class Your Kid Will Actually Love.
Do we need to buy supplies first?
Check the class page before you buy anything. Most of these start with basics you already own: paper, pencils, crayons, whatever is in the junk drawer. Do not outfit an art studio before the first class.
