Close your eyes for a moment. You are ten years old. What are your hands doing? Perhaps you are shaping clay, drawing in the margins of a school notebook, or building a world out of cushions and blankets. Can you remember how the hours disappeared?

Somewhere between growing up and getting things done, many of us stopped making things simply for pleasure. We began asking whether we were talented, whether the result was useful, whether we had time. The child who needed only a pencil suddenly needed permission.

Here is a small exercise for tonight: return to something you loved doing at ten. Give it ten minutes. Pick up crayons, fold paper, sketch your cat or make a creature from clay. Forget about producing something good. Notice how it feels to begin.

Perhaps your shoulders relax. Perhaps you become curious about a colour, a shape or an unexpected mistake. Perhaps you simply enjoy ten minutes without checking your phone. There is no correct response and no masterpiece required.

That feeling of becoming absorbed in an activity is often described as flow. For children, creative play offers space to experiment, make choices and discover what interests them. Sometimes, the most valuable part is having enough time to follow an idea wherever it leads.

A gift for your little ones

Half-term is an opportunity to give children that time. For parents planning the week, or grandparents looking for a gift that becomes an experience, a room full of materials and possibilities can be a wonderful starting point.

From 26 to 30 October, Algarve Arts Academy in Quarteira, close to Aquashow, welcomes children aged six to fourteen to Dream Factory: Making Monsters.

Every monster begins as a wild idea. Over five days, children invent a creature with a name, personality and story, sculpt it in clay, stitch a soft felt version and paint its portrait. Each material brings a new challenge: how does a drawn character become something you can hold?

On Friday, families are invited to the Monster Gallery to discover the creatures and hear the stories behind them.

Two age groups share the adventure: Monster Makers, for ages six to nine, and the Creature Design Studio, for ages ten to fourteen. Older children explore how artists working in games and films develop creatures, connecting imagination with character design.

Professional art teachers guide the activities, with a maximum of twelve children at camp. There is room to ask questions, try again and develop an individual idea.

Perhaps a shy child meets someone else who loves dragons. Perhaps an older child discovers that art includes the imaginary worlds they already enjoy. Shared interests can make a first conversation easier.

Book at algarvearts.academy/halftermspookycamp or WhatsApp +351 911 575 403.

Give a child a week of making things. Their monsters come home; the confidence, friendships and memories can travel further.

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