Don't cut the Dinosaur Legs!

My grand-daughter is quite an artist.  She is 3.5 and has a little art room of her own at home. Just to be clear, she does share the space with a freezer and a photocopier and other things, but it is her space where she can spread out and create! Her mama has put a lot of materials at her height so she can be quite self sufficient with scissors, paper, crayons, glue, collage materials, paint and more.

Just a side note: It is really great in a daycare setting, if there is a designated art area where children can access art materials everyday and learn to use them whenever they need to.

Now back to my story...When she used paint a few months ago, she was really into mixing the colors and wondering, "What will happen?"

Then she was really into painting in each corner as she began her work.

Now it seems as if her art is becoming more representational.  "This is a calendula," she might say,  or, "This is a dinosaur family."

(The painting of the Dinosaur Family photo credit goes to the fabulous daycare she attends, complete with an inspiring art room)

My daughter likes to frame a few of this young artists projects and they have several "art galleries" at home.  She recently found two matching frames at the thrift store and brought them home to showcase some of her latest work.

My daughter wanted to include her in the whole process of framing her art.  After all, it's hers!  First they had to clean the frames.  Then they talked for a long time about what pictures to put in the frames.  Some were too big and would require some cutting.  They agreed they couldn't cut the dinosaur family painting because as little girl pointed out "The dinosaurs wouldn't be together with their family."

So they decided together on two paintings that she had but might require just a little cutting to fit the frames.  They decided together where to cut and Mama double checked before she actually cut anything.  This is how they turned out!

The one on the left is a stop sign.  The one on the right is a dinosaur island.

The bombshell announcement came after all the deciding and discussing and cutting....Little girl said, "It's okay Mommy, that dinosaur didn't need his legs."

See the blue on the bottom right of the dinosaur island picture?  That's the poor dinosaur with no legs.

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Peter H. Reynolds has written three amazing children's books about children doing art.  He is clearly very sensitive about promoting children's confidence and freedom as they experience art.  His books are called, The Dot, Ish, and Sky Color.  You can buy them as a boxed set or individually.  I highly recommend them. They are gorgeous books, worth having on your shelf.

I also came across this blog called the Artful Parent.  She has lots of helpful tips for parents and educators.  You can check out more by clicking on this LINK

Here's to many artful adventures with your children, whether at home or in the classroom!