{"id":3016,"date":"2026-10-03T09:51:42","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T06:51:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/?p=3016"},"modified":"2026-10-11T13:14:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T10:14:20","slug":"from-creative-writing-to-the-magic-of-animation-for-children-aged-8-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/from-creative-writing-to-the-magic-of-animation-for-children-aged-8-12\/","title":{"rendered":"[NEW] From Creative Writing to the Magic of Animation! | For Children Aged 8\u201312"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>From Creative Writing to the Magic of Animation!<\/h1>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Spithes, the creative team, invites children to take part in an innovative educational programme that combines imagination, play, creative writing and technology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Through five interactive sessions, children will create their own character and bring it to life through the magic of stop-motion animation and Augmented Reality (AR). An imaginative journey of self-expression, learning and technology for children who love to create!<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Part 1: Creative Writing and Character Creation (3 Sessions)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>Session 1:<\/strong> Children discover the power of words and imagination through creative writing games and drama-based activities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>Session 2:<\/strong> Children develop their initial ideas for their story and character, then create a unique character of their own. Together, we explore the scanned image or drawing submitted by each child.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>Session 3:<\/strong> Children discuss and explore the scanned image or drawing they have submitted. They develop their character\u2019s short story and complete the writing process, discovering essential character-development techniques and storytelling elements.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Part 2: Stop-Motion Animation and Augmented Reality (2 Sessions)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>Session 4:<\/strong> Children take their first steps into the world of stop-motion animation. They create their character using any materials they like, such as modelling clay, drawings, everyday objects or toys. They then bring their character to life, giving it a voice and introducing it to the audience in a short animated film.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>Session 5:<\/strong> Children discover the possibilities of Augmented Reality (AR) filters. Using AR technology, they transform themselves into their characters by digitally wearing a mask they have designed and drawn themselves. They then create short videos in which their characters tell a little story.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>When?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>9, 16, 23 and 30 January, and 6 February 2027<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong>Saturdays, 17:00\u201318:30<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Cost<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Full programme fee: <strong>\u20ac140<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">THF Friends\u2019 programme fee: <strong>\u20ac126<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Book your ticket here:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.more.com\/gr-el\/tickets\/children\/workshop\/apo-ti-dimiourgiki-grafi-sti-mageia-tou-animation-gia-paidia-8-12-eton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">From Creative Writing to the Magic of Animation! | For Children Aged 8\u201312 | Tickets Online! | More.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\"><strong><em>Advance ticket sales will open soon.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul data-spread=\"true\">\n<li>All workshop materials are provided by the Foundation.<\/li>\n<li>To ensure the smooth running of the programme, parents and guardians are not permitted to remain in the workshop room. They may wait in the ground-floor waiting area, visit the Foundation\u2019s current exhibitions* and shop*, or relax at Caf\u00e9 Merlin*. (*These activities are not included in the programme fee.)<\/li>\n<li>Missed sessions cannot be made up.<\/li>\n<li>Transfers to another session are permitted up to 48 hours before the scheduled programme. For weekend programmes, provided the 48-hour deadline has not already passed, transfers can be arranged until Friday at 15:00.<\/li>\n<li>Ticket refunds are issued only if the Foundation cancels the programme.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div contenteditable=\"false\">\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>Elpida Minadaki<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Elpida Minadaki loves fairy tales and the magic they create. She is fascinated by their power to transport us to magical worlds while teaching us important lessons and revealing truths through enchanting stories. Fairy tales, she believes, can convey meaningful messages to audiences of all ages.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">She studied Journalism and graduated from the Athinaiki Skini Drama School. She also holds a postgraduate qualification in Comedy Writing from Falmouth University. Her short-film screenplay received an award in a competition organised by Pfizer.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">She works as a copywriter, screenwriter, children\u2019s author and actress. Her children\u2019s books, filled with imagination and warmth, include <em>Litsa the Little Plastic Bag<\/em> (Oselotos Publications), <em>The Ballerina Who Didn\u2019t Dance<\/em> (Ydroplano Publications), <em>The Journey of the Red Umbrella<\/em> (Kedros Publications), <em>The Magic Buttons &amp; the Shower of Stars<\/em> (Livani Publications), <em>The Rescue of Neramyg\u00ed<\/em> (Ydroplano Publications), and <em>The Red Umbrella\u2019s New Adventures: Travelling with the Wright Brothers<\/em> (Michalis Sideris Publications).<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">She has also contributed to several collaborative publications with the Women\u2019s Literary Society.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">With more than ten years of experience, she has been leading creative writing workshops and experiential activities for children and teenagers, fostering imagination, self-expression and empathy through the art of storytelling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">She also teaches creative writing in schools, municipalities, foundations and museums. She founded <strong>Spithes<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/\">www.spithes.com<\/a>), a creative team that develops educational programmes for children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">She is a member of the Greek Children\u2019s Book Circle, the Greek section of IBBY; the Women\u2019s Literary Society; the Union of Greek Screenwriters; ADHD Hellas, an organisation supporting people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; and a founding member of Assitej Greece, the Greek Network for Theatre for Children and Young People.<\/p>\n<div contenteditable=\"false\">\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<h3><strong>Ilias Florakis<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Ilias Florakis began his artistic career as a writer of unusual and unconventional stories, publishing <em>Charlie\u2019s Little Bar<\/em> (Kastaniotis Publications), <em>The Therapist<\/em> (Agkyra Publications) and <em>13 Past Midnight<\/em> (Greek Screenwriters\u2019 Publications). His literary work has also received recognition through numerous publications and awards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">From 2006 to 2019, he taught creative writing. In 2011, he wrote and directed the theatrical monologue <em>Je t\u2019aime<\/em>, which won the Original Script Award and received an Honourable Mention for Female Performance at the Patras Satirical Theatre Festival. That same year, he staged the black comedy <em>White Pages<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Since 2012, he has been working in film, focusing on screenwriting, editing and directing. His short films have been selected for competition and have received distinctions at numerous film festivals in Greece and abroad.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In 2014, he founded <strong>CineLike Lab<\/strong>, a mixed-media filmmaking workshop for children.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In 2017, his film <em>Kalik, the Little Creator<\/em> won the Grand Prize at the 19th Seoul Youth Film Festival. In 2021, <em>The Grey Jungle<\/em> received an Honourable Mention at the Stone Flower Youth Film Festival in Russia. In 2024, his film <em>Learning<\/em> won the Innovative Film Award at the 11th Plasencia Encorto International Youth Film Festival in Spain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">From 2015 to 2023, he collaborated with the Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People and Camera Zizanio, delivering filmmaking workshops for children under the auspices of the Greek Ministry of Education.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">He also leads professional development seminars for primary and secondary school teachers.<\/p>\n<p>He is a member of the Union of Greek Screenwriters, where he also works as a script analyst. In addition, he serves on the juries of screenplay competitions and delivers seminars organised by the Union.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Creative Writing to the Magic of Animation! Spithes, the creative team, invites children to take part in an innovative educational programme that combines imagination, play, creative writing and technology. Through five interactive sessions, children will create their own character and bring it to life through the magic of stop-motion animation and Augmented Reality (AR). [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2976,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3016"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3020,"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3016\/revisions\/3020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.spithes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}