Twist by the pool
Decathlon Poonamallee is conducting a swimming championship for both boys and girls. Open to those born between 2003 and 2011, the event has categories such as freestyle, backstroke and butterfly. Winners will be judged on the basis of time, over 50 m and 100 m distances. On April 9. 9.30 am onwards. Entry at Rs. 100. Details: 8884156900
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Roald models in life
William Shakespeare and Roald Dahl are the focus of the British Council’s summer English classes. While the Bard’s 400th death anniversary programmes are still on, fans of Roald Dahl are gearing up for his 100th birthday. The British Council’s workshops will help students improve their grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Apart from this, they will also enact role-plays, write film scripts using sonnets, narrate stories and more. On the last day of this month-long programme, they will present a play based on either of Shakespeare or Dahl’s works. May 1-31. Open to ages 7-17. Details: 0120 4569000
Race to which mountain?
City-based adventure company Aavishkar is taking children to places like Munnar, Coorg, Karadimali and Udumalpet. The primary destination of the Coorg trip is Civet Creek, a quaint hotspot for campers. At Udumalpet, participants will be taken to Camp Splendour, a boot camp, which is a popular destination for adventure and water sports. Registration from Rs. 4,800 onwards. May 1-18. Details: aavishkaarindia.com; 9940056618
All in the fold
Storytelling meets origami at Ahalya’s boutique mansion, Kingsley. Open to children of ages seven to 12, the event will be supervised by Sandhya Ruban, who has had a stint at the World Storytelling Institute. She will touch upon subjects related to Greek myths and Japanese folk tales. Following Sandhya’s session, origami artist Latha Subramaniam will take over, showing participants how to tell a story through paper. This event also marks the launch of a new collection by Ahalya, consisting of pattu pavadas from Kanakavalli and jewellery by Ahalya. At Kingsley. Today, 5 pm onwards. Entry free. Details: 9003076665
Water wonderful world
Fancy zip lining near Jog Falls, the highest waterfall in the country? Bengaluru-based travel organiser Nature Admire will take kids on an adventure they’re not likely to forget for a long time. Besides the usual trekking and camping, there will also be activities like kayaking, rafting, target shooting, archery and other activities. There’s also bird-spotting and farm visits included in the itinerary. Open to ages 8-16. Rs. 5,000 per head. April 3-28, divided into four batches. Details: 9845079414; natureadmire.in
Piano relief
The new summer trimester programme at Swarnabhoomi Academy of Music has started inviting applications, and we feel it is a winner. To begin in May, the programme has six courses and promises the services of experts such as pianist Gabriel Gestzi, Carnatic vocalist Sreyas Narayanun, drummer Karina Colis, Carnatic percussionist Umayalpuram Mali, guitarist Raghuraman Ramasubramanian, and others. Rs. 10,000 onwards. Details: 7358000770
Step up!
A new initiative by by Aparna Nagesh, choreographer and artistic director of city-based all-girls dance group High Kicks, this is for the nimble-footed. Called Madras Dance Arts, this collective programme is open to beginners, amateurs and professionals. Besides street jazz and mixed martial arts, she will also train dancers in other forms like contemporary, devarattam and Afro dance. Starting from June, open to ages five and above. Rs. 2,000 per head. At Sahas Embassy. Details: highkicks.in
Ink pinky
With a slew of superhero movies coming up at the box-office, children will be tempted to sketch their favourite comic characters. They can fine-tune their sketching skills by enrolling for the upcoming workshop to be conducted by Hindustan Trading Company. Besides basic sketching, participants will also be shown how to draw story-boards and illustrations. Open to ages 10 and above. Cartoon workshop on April 1 and Comic workshop on April 2. Entry at Rs. 1,800 per head for both days. 10 am to noon. Details: 8939177621
Marine drive
Children will get to explore marine life under the able supervision of biologists, zoologists and herpetologists, who will train them in an upcoming workshop conducted by Bay of Life. Activities include live sampling of marine animals and using microscopes and telescopes to study marine anatomy. Entry Rs. 950 (half day) and Rs. 1,950 (full day). Till May 24. Every Wednesday, 8.30 am to 12.30 pm. Details: 9940488880; bayoflife.com
Stretch this out
A session of fun yoga can go a long way in reinvigorating your child’s latent energy. Camp Tamasha promises the same along with art, theatre and storytelling. This three-day event is being conducted by city-based yoga trainer Rohini Manohar and storyteller Tejaswini Menon. It is open to kids of up to third standard, and students of sixth, seventh and eighth standards. Registrations Rs. 1,500 per head. At Chennai Yoga Studio. April 2-4. Details: 9940215351
Hurry, potter
Use smoke to come up with some cool pottery creations at this workshop. Hosted by Pothole at The Farm, here, you can use terra sigillata and smoke to create patterns on the pottery pieces. Open to ages above 12. May 1-7. Rs. 3,000 per head. Details: 9884144693
Farm a distance
Auroville has some interesting activities planned for the season. From farm and forest walks on Sundays, to tea gathering on Saturdays, your kids’ weekends in this community are well-sorted. For one thing, they can expect to master the East Asian art of drinking and serving tea. On Saturdays, 2 pm to 5 pm. At Gelato Factory, Auroville. Details: 0413 2622192. Besides this, there is also an organic cooking session, where participants will cook with farm-fresh produce. On Saturdays, 3 pm. At Solitude Farm, Auroville. Details: 9843319260
Sky resort
If your child is interested in reading about galaxies and planets, it’s important to get their basics right. Jhoola Activity Centre is presently hosting a special camp for kids of ages 5-8, where they can learn about the solar system. They will also be shown how to make kaleidoscopes, candles and soaps. The camp is on for seven days. Registration at Rs. 1,400 per head. Details: 9176583618
Veni Vedic vici
If you want your child to learn Sanskrit, sign him/her up for the upcoming Sanskrit class conducted by
the Sri Aurobindo Foundation for Indian Culture. The two-day event will focus on the Devanagari script, Sanskrit vocabulary, chanting mantras, shlokas and other devotional verses. April 15-16. 10 am to 5 pm, at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan. To register, mail doctorynrao@yahoo.co.in
Pose garden
The Academy of Modern Danse is conducting an interesting series of dance workshops this summer. Learn ballet from Kokila Hariram, hip-hop dance from Raghu Bala, Afro moves from Maryann Ranjini Vincent, jazz and funk from Milton Obadhia and belly dance from Jane. Ballet open to ages 4-12; the rest are open to all. Registrations Rs. 400 per head. At the Russian Cultural Centre. Details: 9840554358
Oui, please!
Give your child the chance to hone his/her skills in speaking French at the Alliance Francaise institute, which will conduct a fresh batch of French classes this summer. There are also special crash courses being organised, besides the regular ones. April onwards, for two months. Rs. 5,440 onwards (45 hours). Open to ages 11-15. Details: madras.afindia.org