Creative Arts

A wind instrument is a musical instrument that you play by blowing air into it. In Kenya, communities make many indigenous wind instruments from natural materials like reeds, bamboo, wood and animal horns.

There are two main groups:

• Flutes – tubes with finger holes. They may be end-blown (blown at the tip) like the muturiri (Agikuyu) and odundu (Luo), or side-blown like the chivoti (Digo).
• Horns – made from an animal horn or hollow wood, such as the oporo (Luo) and coro (Agikuyu).

When you draw a wind instrument, first look at it carefully. Sketch light guide lines to get the shape, then draw the outline and mark the finger holes and mouthpiece in the right places. Keep the proportion correct so the length and thickness look real. Finally, add shading – darker on one side, lighter on the other – to make the instrument look round and solid. Take your time and use an eraser to tidy up.

Football (soccer) is a team ball game played between two teams. Each team has 11 players on the field, made up of a goalkeeper, defenders, midfielders and forwards (strikers). The aim is to score more goals than the other team by putting the ball into their net.

Only the goalkeeper is allowed to use the hands, and only inside their own penalty area. All other players use their feet, head, chest and thighs – never the hands.

Practise these basic skills:

• Dribbling – moving the ball with small kicks while running.
• Passing – kicking the ball accurately to a teammate.
• Receiving (trapping) – controlling a ball that comes to you.
• Shooting – kicking the ball firmly towards goal.
• Tackling – fairly taking the ball from an opponent.

A referee makes sure players follow the rules and play fairly, with no dangerous tackles. Warm up before you play and show good sportsmanship whether you win or lose. Kenya's national team is the Harambee Stars.

Rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds and silences in music. It is what makes you want to clap, tap your feet or nod your head to a song.

Rhythm sits on top of the beat. The beat is the steady pulse that never changes – like a clock ticking or a heart beating. When you march or walk, your steps follow a steady beat. Tempo is the speed of that beat: it can be fast (like a lively dance) or slow (like a lullaby).

You can make rhythm using body percussion (clapping, stamping, clicking) or instruments like drums, the kayamba or shakers. Try this:

• Keep a steady beat by tapping your knees.
• Over that beat, clap a pattern of long and short claps.
• Copy rhythms your teacher claps, then create your own.

Many Kenyan folk songs and dances, such as isukuti, are driven by strong, exciting drum rhythms. Listen for the steady beat first, then hear the rhythm pattern dancing over it.

Painting and mosaic are two different ways of making a colourful picture.

In painting, you spread colour onto a surface using a brush. The three primary colours are red, yellow and blue. By mixing them you make secondary colours: red + yellow = orange, blue + yellow = green, red + blue = purple. Paint flows in smooth, continuous brushstrokes.

A mosaic is a picture or design made by arranging and gluing many small pieces onto a surface. Each little piece is called a tessera (plural tesserae). Instead of one smooth stroke, the picture is built up from lots of separate bits placed close together.

You can make a mosaic from cheap, found materials such as:

• Cut coloured paper or magazine pieces
• Eggshells, dry seeds or grains
• Bottle tops and small tiles

Draw your outline first, then spread glue and press the pieces on, leaving tiny gaps between them. The difference is simple: a painting uses continuous colour, while a mosaic is made of many small separate pieces.

A melody is a sequence of single notes of different pitches played or sung one after another to make a tune. The melody is the part of a song you can hum, whistle or sing from memory.

Pitch means how high or low a sound is. A bird's chirp is high pitch; a big drum is low pitch. In a melody the notes move up, move down, or stay the same, and this movement gives every song its special shape.

Musicians name pitches using the tonic sol-fa:

• doh – re – mi – fa – so – la – ti – doh'

Singing up this ladder, each note is a little higher than the one before. Try singing doh re mi fa so going up, then back down.

Remember the difference: rhythm is about time (long and short sounds), while melody is about pitch (high and low notes). When a good melody and a strong rhythm join together, you get a song you can sing and dance to – just like your favourite Kenyan folk tunes.

Rounders is a fun bat-and-ball team game. Two teams take turns: one team bats while the other team fields. The aim is to hit the ball and run around the four posts to score.

Key players in the fielding team:

• Bowler – delivers the ball to the batter using an underarm action.
• Backstop – stands behind the batter.
• Post fielders – guard the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th posts.
• Deep fielders – cover the wide spaces.

The batter gets one good ball to hit, then must run whether or not they hit it. If a batter runs all the way round all four posts on their own hit before the next ball, they score a rounder. Reaching only the 2nd post scores a half-rounder.

A batter is out if a fielder catches the ball before it bounces, or if a fielder holding the ball touches (stumps) the post the batter is running to. Rounders builds hand-eye coordination, running speed and teamwork – warm up first and always play safely with the bat.

Athletics is a sport made up of running, jumping and throwing events. It is divided into two groups: track events and field events.

Track events happen on the running track:

• Sprints – short, fast races such as the 100m.
• Relays – team races where runners pass a baton.
• Middle and long distance – longer races that need pacing.

Field events happen in areas beside the track:

• Jumps – the long jump and high jump.
• Throws – the shot put and throwing a ball or javelin.

Every race starts with the starter's commands: “On your marks … set … go!” In a relay, runners must pass the baton smoothly inside the changeover zone. Always warm up and stretch first to avoid injury, and cool down afterwards.

Kenya is famous around the world for long-distance running, with champions like Eliud Kipchoge and Faith Kipyegon. Practising athletics builds speed, strength and stamina, and teaches you to compete fairly and try your personal best.

Fabric decoration is the art of making plain cloth colourful and attractive. Two popular methods are tie-and-dye and batik. Both are types of resist dyeing, which means we stop the dye from reaching some parts of the cloth so a pattern appears.

Tie-and-dye: You fold, twist or bunch the fabric and tie it tightly with string or rubber bands. Then you dip it in dye. The tied parts resist the dye and stay their original colour, while the rest turns the dye colour. When you untie the cloth, a lovely pattern of circles or stripes is revealed.

Batik: You paint hot wax onto the cloth in a design. The waxed areas resist the dye. After dyeing, the wax is removed (by ironing or boiling), leaving the pattern behind.

Other ways to decorate fabric include block printing, screen printing and embroidery.

Safety first: wear an apron and gloves, because dye stains skin and clothes. Work in a tidy space and let the fabric dry fully before showing your beautiful design.

A folk dance is a traditional dance passed down within a community and performed at events like weddings, harvests and celebrations. Kenya has many rich folk dances:

• Isukuti – a fast, energetic dance of the Isukha and Idakho of Western Kenya, driven by a set of three drums (big, medium, small) with a horn and rattles.
• Ohangla – a lively Luo dance with drums and traditional attire.
• Chakacha – a coastal Swahili dance known for graceful waist and hip movements.
• Mugithi – an Agikuyu dance where dancers line up single file like a train.

When you perform, pay attention to the elements of dance:

• Costume – traditional attire, beads, feathers or sisal skirts.
• Formation – how dancers stand (rows, circles or lines).
• Body movement – steps, claps and swaying in time with the music.
• Accompaniment – drums, rattles and singing, often led by a soloist.
• Facial expression – smiles and energy that show the mood.

Move together as a team, keep to the beat, and show pride in your culture.

Puppetry is the art of using puppets to tell a story. A puppet is a figure brought to life by a person called a puppeteer, who moves it and gives it a voice.

There are four main types of puppets:

• Glove (hand) puppet – fits over the hand like a glove and is moved from below. Your fingers work the head and arms.
• Rod puppet – held up and moved from below using rods attached to the body and arms.
• String puppet (marionette) – controlled from above by strings joined to a wooden control bar.
• Shadow puppet – a flat figure held behind a lit screen so the audience sees only its shadow (silhouette).

You can make simple puppets from waste materials: an old sock for a mouth puppet, a paper bag, or paper shapes on sticks for shadow puppets. Add eyes, hair and clothes from scraps.

When you perform, move the puppet clearly, change your voice for each character, and keep the puppet 'alive' by moving it while it speaks. Puppetry helps you tell stories with imagination and confidence.

The descant (soprano) recorder is a small wind instrument you play by gently blowing into the mouthpiece while covering holes with your fingers.

How to hold it:

• The left hand goes on top, nearest the mouthpiece.
• The right hand goes below.
• Your left thumb covers the hole at the back.
• Rest the mouthpiece lightly on your lower lip – do not bite it.

The first three notes learners usually play are B, A and G:

• B – left thumb (back) and the first finger on top.
• A – add the second finger.
• G – add the third finger.

To start each note cleanly, whisper “doo” or “too” with your tongue – this is called tonguing. Blow softly and steadily; blowing too hard makes a squeaky, sharp sound.

Care for your recorder: always blow gently, wipe it dry with a cleaning rod and cloth after playing, and store it in its case. Never share a mouthpiece without cleaning it. With daily practice you will soon play simple tunes.

This is an optional topic – your school may choose swimming or indigenous Kenyan games, depending on what is available.

Swimming: The most important rule is safety. Never swim alone – always have an adult watching. Enter shallow water first, and warm up before you start. Basic skills to learn:

• Floating – letting your body rest on the water.
• Kicking – steady up-and-down leg kicks.
• Arm strokes – pulling water back with your arms (front crawl).
• Breathing – breathing out in the water and in above it.

Indigenous Kenyan games are traditional games passed down by children over the years:

• Kati – two throwers try to hit the players in the middle with a soft ball while they dodge.
• Bano – a game played with marbles, flicking to knock others out of a circle.
• Blada / kamba – long-rope skipping with songs and chants.

These games build fitness, coordination, quick thinking and teamwork, and keep our culture alive. Whether you swim or play, follow the rules, take turns and play safely and fairly.

Appreciation means looking at, listening to and talking about creative works – such as paintings, crafts, songs and dances – and giving thoughtful opinions about them.

To analyse a creative work, follow these steps:

• Describe – Say what you see or hear. In art, look for line, shape, colour and texture. In music, listen for rhythm, melody and tempo. In dance, watch the movements and formation.
• Explain the elements – Point out which elements the artist used and how, for example “the painting uses bright warm colours”.
• Give your opinion – Say what you like and why, using reasons.
• Suggest improvements – Kindly say how it could be made even better.

Always be respectful and polite when talking about a classmate's work. Good feedback is honest but kind, and it helps everyone improve. Point out the strong parts first, then make gentle suggestions.

Analysing creative works trains your eyes and ears, helps you use the correct art and music vocabulary, and grows your appreciation for the talent in your community and country.