A few weeks ago I attended a bloggers networking event at the National Portrait Gallery.  I got to meet some inspiring bloggers and I also found out that the National Portrait Gallery has loads of free Summer events, workshops and activities for kids.  Most of these events are held on Thursdays, Fridays and the weekend.  So last Friday we decided to check one out.  We attended a clay modelling workshop where kids get to pick a portrait from the gallery, draw it and then create a clay sculpture of it.

Even though the workshop was aimed at the kids, I totally got in to the clay modelling part and really enjoyed it too.  And I wasn’t the only mum there that was almost taking over their child’s clay!  Anya wasn’t crazy about the drawing bit but the clay modelling was a huge hit with her.  The clay is cool and soft to the touch so it was lovely to feel and it was really fun to be able to mold and shape it and see a head and shoulders emerging.  I’ll admit our end result looked a bit frightening but we had so much fun making it.

All the free kids activities on offer at the National Portrait Gallery are arty and creative which is why we were drawn to them in the first place.  The clay modelling workshop is only one of many – others include colour workshops, using loom bands to create portraits, drawing sessions and more.  Each year, as I discover more and more of the wonderful free events for kids in London, I feel so lucky that we can take advantage of these.  Have you discovered any?  Please do share in the comments so that others can try them too.

{all photos by ebabee}