We recently took a few family trips both two the beach and to an aquarium where the kids got to see many types of sea life. MD has been infatuated with sealife, especially sharks for quite a while now. So I wanted to focus some art activities on this theme. Here is our watercolor ocean resist. I drew the sea creatures with crayon, colored in a couple of them, and then had MD color the rest. The funny thing is, MD has never really colored in a coloring book. Most, if not all his art has been pretty "free" so he really did not get the concept of coloring inside the lines. This is the first time I showed him how to stay inside, but of course he did not.
I really don't know how to go about this because small part of me thinks he should learn to color inside the lines and maybe he should know this by now, or at least try. But another part of me (a bigger part) feels that this would be hindering the creativity that I am trying to encourage in him. So for now I guess I'll wait.
This is our ocean, after he colored and then brushed over it with blue and teal watercolors.
And this is his picture of a "park" he did all by himself.
I think the most important thing you can do is keep things fun and engaging. The "inside the lines" part of learning will come as there is a readiness. Try different approaches by offering both structured and free art. Have you seen this article? http://deborahjstewart.com/2010/07/coloring-inside-the-lines-in-preschool/
ReplyDeleteSo much fun! I love his park :) We did this as a Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star activity- it was neat b/c I drew the stars in white on white paper so it was like they magically appeared.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link Deborah! I love it, it's the perfect way to teach him to color inside the lines because it's his own shapes not from a coloring book, great!
ReplyDeleteartsy_momma: I love the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star idea....will have to do that one soon!
ReplyDeleteI think watercolor resists are great! I love all the fun activities you share on your blog. I just gave you an award at http://LivingMontessoriNow.com/2010/08/20/awards-to-happily-pass-on/!
ReplyDeleteI'm totally with you on the coloring books! I had never given them to my son, and only recently have I suggested he color in anything. The only reason I started to do it was that he's been learning to write letters too, and I just figure it is all practice in how to hold the crayon and work those finger muscles. But I don't care in the slightest that he goes outside of the lines. :)
ReplyDeleteI just found your blog through Counting Coconuts. It's full of wonderful ideas. I particularly love the addition of Spanish language as my preschooler and I are both trying to learn Spanish. Quick question, what kind of paper did you use to do this project? Thanks for taking the time to share your fun projects with everyone.
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