Ways that children and families can enjoy life without drugs or violence were recently pieced together via quilt squares created by more than 200 pupils, along with their families, from H.C. Storm Elementary School.
In one square, a boat with a bright pink sail floats across the background as a family bicycles along a trail. In another, four outstretched hands encircle a red heart. Softball and soccer balls loom from the center of other squares. Three calico cats stare out from another.
Plain muslin squares were sent home with each of the school’s 420 pupils at the beginning of spring break. The returned squares, decorated with felt markers or with fabric pieces, were then sewn together into 15 quilts with yellow and red borders by a group of parents and teachers, including art teacher Lauri Guyon, who initiated the project.
The quilts will be displayed to parents Thursday during Pride Night, part of the school’s weeklong celebration of the fine arts. The quilts will then be lent for display to community businesses and government agencies.
Some families chose to use phrases without pictures such as “Hugs not Drugs,” while others recreated family scenes such as camping. Fifth graders Becky Notaro and Jacob Mullins, drew symbols of their families’ joint interests.
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The phrase “The family that plays together stays together” is written on the outer edge of a large softball on Becky’s square, created with her sister and parents.
“We used that because we like to play ball together in the back yard, and the heart in the center of the ball is because we love each other,” said Becky.
In Jacob’s square, small hand-drawn pictures of a piano, soccer ball, bicycle and boat surround the signature smiling yellow crescent moon of his family’s restaurant.
“It was fun to do this, a creative way to show the things you like to do,” said Jacob, who was helped by his two siblings and parents.
The quilts are part of a Murals Reflecting Prevention Quilt Project begun several years ago in Elgin School District U-46. It has since grown to include other area schools, community groups and civic organizations.
“It’s my life focus to keep kids safe, off drugs, healthy, helping them make proper choices in their lives,” said Marlene Berman, the drug/violence prevention coordinator for U-46. “This is a communitywide project that everyone can take part in and that is sending a positive message throughout the school and community.”