, one of our favorite art-themed stories. I then ripped off a long piece of easel paper and taped it to the hallway floor, setting out crayon cakes and beeswax crayons for drawing.I told the kids they could draw a world just like Harold did with his crayon. I really had no idea if they would find this even remotely appealing, and I also had no clue if the collaboration component was going to work. I had thought of the project about an hour before and just taped down the paper and hoped for the best.
I'm happy to report that not only did they have fun, but they were very serious about the project and all four of them actually discussed, the entire time they were drawing, what their plans were and what they were making. Ninna drew roads, Bojey drew a lake, our little friend in the Dorothy dress drew some people, and our other friend drew...something I can't remember. Whatever it was, he worked very hard on it!
Here's the finished product:
Have you tried any collaborative art projects with your kids? Were they successful? I'd like to try something like this again, but I don't want to push it. I think it really takes a lot to be able to work together on a creative project like this--I know adults who can't or wouldn't want to compromise their ideas, so I can imagine how challenging this can be for little people. On the other hand, since the experience was so nice, I'd like to give them the opportunity again.
10 comments:
This is a fantastic idea! I always use that book to teach my kindergarten art students about all the different lines Harold uses to draw with, but this would be a great extension of that!
Thanks! Now you've inspired me to go back and look at the lines he uses :).
That is so great! I will have to do that soon while it's cold and yucky out!
off to ikea for a roll of paper to try this at home:0)
love it,
hello BTW found you through farmama
Neat! I'll try this with the boy-o's this weekend (though they mostly prefer it when I do NOT tell them what to do).
I've done something sort of like this with Emma and Johnny, but haven't tried including friends. My kids often collaborate while building things out of cardboard, and while playing with blocks and small animals. This activity turned out really well!
I don't know if we have that book here in Italy, but I like the kids' drawing soooo much. I guess I must find a huge piece of paper and involve my son and our two little neighbours in such a project... :-)
Thanks, everyone! I'm so glad you liked this. After I posted it, it occurred to me that it would have been more logical to tape the paper to the wall rather than the floor, at least in terms of following what Harold did. I'll try that next time.
lighteningmyload--I'm glad you found me! I just learned about farmama a month or two ago. Her farm life is so inspiring. I'm off to check out your blog!
Andrea--I almost always stay away from offering direction with art projects, too. I was a little surprised, to be honest, that they actually did decide to draw a world.
Great post. Love the overhead shots, the little artists look so focused. I adore photos of kids working at a project.
I am always interested in the question you posed and I am working out the theory in my head (still haven't). I like a mix of directed and not directed projects. Directed for me is more craft and the undirected are more expressive. I never post about the latter - I kind of keep those things to myself, too special to share!
Jaimie
"Dorothy" just loves coming to your house. She cried yesterday when I took A to choir and she was told that she would be going with Mama to the park during A's activity, instead of to your house!
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