This week, I decided to try out the Art Box with Crumpet. I was really excited about it and couldn't wait to see what he did with all the stuff I put in his bucket. I gave him:
markers, pom poms, cotton balls, ribbon, paper, paint, googly eyes, a glue stick and glue, party toothpicks, foam beads and paper shreds.
Maybe I gave him too many things? Maybe it's just Crumpet? He is in this crazy gathering phase: every itty bitty toy or piece of junk he can find goes into secret boxes and tubs that I find all over the house. They are "treasure", "trash" for his garbage truck, or today, "Christmas stuff". He took everything small and put it in a box. He did mention making a snowman out of the cotton balls, but thought better of it. Eventually he got around to making a map:
And this:
The white spots on the bottom left are animal tracks. I'm not sure about the rest of it!
Then he used the marker caps as rockets for a while and disappeared from the kitchen... Maybe I'll give him less stuff next week. Certainly nothing that could be misconstrued as "treasure"!
This post made me giggle. I love reading about different ideas that our young children have when left to their own imagination. I would agree that you gave him too many options - it might have been overwhelming. Yesterday Anna spent good 20 minutes cutting foam sheets into "salad" - that was her open-ended activity that was clearly highly enjoyable to her. Who am I to tell her what to create - in her case she always goes for food :)
ReplyDeleteI also had a little laugh while reading this. Matthew always has some idea that I never envisioned... today he had a piece of styrofoam in his art box - a pretty flat piece and I thought it would be fun to paint on it. Something different, you know? Well, he wanted to hammer "nails" (golf tees) into it, and when I told him it was too short to nail into he decided to saw it up. So, not art really, but it did keep him occupied for quite a while, and I take my blessings as I can get them. Sometimes I give him little hints or ideas of what he could do with certain items. I guess it's up to him whether or not to take my advice. :) Thanks for participating!
ReplyDeleteI like this idea. I am trying to make sure I am doing something crafty almost everyday now. I think I will incorporate an art box at least once a week. It will be fun to see what they do!
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