SHARJAH – Energies ran high among children during a gymnastics workshop on the fourth day of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, which runs until April 28 at Expo Centre Sharjah.
The half-hour-long Ninja Warriors workshop was part of the 10th edition of the festival, themed ‘Your Future… Just a Book Away’.
As children kicked off the session, they formed a circle, stretching their legs, toes, and arms. They followed a series of exercises, jumping in circles, clapping, performing jumping jacks and deep breathing.
The workshop, provided by My Gym, UAE, gave the children of all age groups a challenging course of swinging, jumping and running, as they raced against the clock.
Balancing exercises were among the most popular with the children, as they attempted to compete against each other with pillow-like bags.
“We want to get kids active and teach them about the benefits of working out and getting physically active,” said Kaye Gumatas, an instructor at My Gym. “In that sense, they can hopefully pick up on these good habits from an early age.”
The festival’s events span several programmes, under the main themes of Kids Activities, Cultural Programmes, Cultural Café, Kids’ Creative Café, Social Media Café and Cookery Corner. SCRF 2018 also features a series of international theatrical performances like ‘Tuta and Monkey Cheetah’, and the ‘Island of Kids’ Area’ that combine education, fun, and entertainment to highlight the values of honesty to young visitors.
A prime highlight of the festival this year is its first ever 3D Book Exhibition, featuring 250 pop-up books from the 3D Book Centre in Forli, Italy. The books have been handpicked by the exhibition curators to represent eight different periods of time. One of SCRF’s mainstays, the Sharjah Exhibition for Children’s Books Illustrations, is featuring 355 artworks by 104 illustrators from 32 countries this year.
–PR
