Being creative

We often check out the Crayola website whenever we need inspiration for creativity. They periodically send me emails with lists of topic related crafts. This time there was a bit about supercharging childrens' creativity. This section I thought was good to read and inspire people to get out and be creative!

We have been creative these last few days. Our summer project is titled "take a picture of something you see" (after the well known song), and we have each chosen a subject and are taking a picture each week of a different aspect of that subject. Once we've finished and done something fun with all the pictures, I'll put it up on the blog.

K had another good creative idea this week. During our local festival some of the homes opened up as art studios and the public were able to wander round to view, and buy if they wish, the wonderful array of different artwork that had been produced by local artists. One of the homes showed a large picture made up entirely of pistachio nut shells, pasted onto paper in rows, and each had a different face drawn on them. All those different expressions pictured on nut shells - would never have thought that one up. K wanted to do something similar and came up with the idea of using the hole punch to make lots of tiny round pieces of paper to draw her expressions on. Started this yesterday. B and I are using the mini circles to produce our own style of mosiac. Again, will put up pics when we're finished.

I find that being round the table together doing some form of art or craft is actually quite calming for me. I enjoy seeing them use their imaginations and have found, as the year has gone on, that they are much more confident in what they produce. Obviously I will help them when they need inspiration or assistance in what they are doing, but I make sure not to say that their work is "wrong" or that they should have done it "like this".

Forget the mess, have fun being creative!