With in-person activities now being inaccessible due to the pandemic, being at home might make you feel lost about what to do for CAS. Fear not, here are some ideas for CAS Creativity you could try!
Things to note:
- Different schools may have different expectations for CAS (My high school generally only approved doing a couple of long-term activities as opposed to multiple one-off activities). So, it’s best to check with your CAS coordinator on how you can adapt these ideas to your school’s guidelines!
- CAS Creativity is very flexible. The ideas listed here all revolve around learning a new skill or honing an existing one. Any endeavour that achieves the same goal can most likely be considered for CAS Creativity. The most important criterion is that your activity encourages creative thinking, and enables you to respond to the CAS learning outcomes!
- For every CAS Creativity idea, you will need a way to measure your progress. Whether that’s through visual documentation (e.g. taking photos of your improving embroidery technique) or achieving set milestones (e.g. a “Fluent” proficiency on Duolingo). This will be used as evidence that the CAS program has enriched you in some way.
1. Pick up a new foreign language:
Have you always wanted to pick up a foreign language you find fascinating? Now’s the time! Besides popular mobile apps such as Duolingo or Memrise, you can also use several free language acquisition series on YouTube as learning resources (JapanesePod is one example).
Immerse yourself by listening to music, binging reality shows, and watching the news in the language—even if you don’t understand them! It also doesn’t hurt to find a language study buddy so you can practice conversations and learn together.
2. Learn a new creative art medium:
You could pick up photography and learn a different technique such as pinhole smartphone photography or shadow photography each week. You could learn embroidery and start with basic images like letters of the alphabet before progressing to more complex subjects such as flowers. Graphic design, watercolour, Photoshop, collage—the possibilities are endless!
3. Try out a musical instrument:
If you have an instrument at home that you haven’t touched in a long time, perhaps you could try to pick it up again. Otherwise, #5 is a more costly idea as you may need to purchase an instrument. Lower-cost instruments that are perfect for quarantine self-teaching would include the ukulele, the kalimba, and of course, the recorder.
Start with the basics such as learning to hold the instrument and making a clear sound, before moving on to scales or chords, and finally to beginner-level pieces. Use an online tutorial series as a learning guide, and record your playing as CAS evidence! (Bonus: write a song for that instrument!)
4. Continue your clubs virtually:
If you are already part of clubs, find creative ways to adapt them to a virtual setting. While your science club cannot conduct lab experiments, you could hold weekly calls discussing different phenomena that aren’t taught in classrooms. Theatre may seem impossible to do without in-person meetings, but as we’ve seen with the viral Ratatouille TikTok musical, who says you can’t stage a show over Zoom? If you lead an art club, perhaps you can collect quarantine-related artworks from students in your school for a virtual exhibition or online magazine!
5. Create a “translation” series:
Take a collection of work and transform it to another medium. Visit a virtual museum and write a poem about each artifact you find interesting. Create a series of paintings based on every song of your favorite album. You could even do something more unexpected, like writing short theater skits inspired by physics concepts!
6. Learn to code:
One of the best skills you can have in the 21st Century is coding. Coding is largely about critical problem solving and creative thinking. Whether you consider yourself a technical or non-technical person, coding is said to be learnable by all! This Medium article has a comprehensive list of beginner coding resources.
7. Start an online platform surrounding your interest (maybe teach it!):
Read books of various genres and review them on a YouTube channel. Start an advocacy blog about a social issue that you care about, share testimonies, readings, and news, and connect with others in the same community. Run an Instagram page to catalogue your gardening endeavours while sharing some botany trivia and plant care tips with your followers. Your CAS reflections will centre around both the activity itself and your management of and engagement with your chosen platform.
8. Learn to cook or bake:
As someone who learned to cook during quarantine, I can’t emphasize this one enough! Cooking is a fun, creative, and sensory activity that teaches you various skills such as precision and efficient task distribution while you mix and match ingredients. As with everything else, start with the basics before moving on to more complex recipes—maybe even create your own!
This is a Kickstarter list to give an idea of the diverse possibilities for CAS Creativity. Hopefully, it can help give you a headstart and inspire your own ideas for fulfilling CAS Creativity hours at home!
You may also like…
- IBlieve’s list of 12 CAS Activity Ideas for Students at Home.
- IBlieve’s list of 10 CAS Service Activities for Students at Home.