Art and Design, Toddler Style

In trying to provide fun activities for Hayden, one of the things we've come up with has been taping a large sheet of paper on the floor and letting her color it however she likes. Sometimes this keeps her attention for only a few moments, but within the past week, she actually got really into it.

This time around we had taped down some thicker brown paper (I think from the inside of a roll of cheap wrapping paper) and pulled out her little tote of art supplies (which includes markers, crayons, stickers, water colors, etc.). She really likes to use markers - we actually purchased washable ones special for her, rather than using my old ones, just in case of a coloring incident.

As she began to work, I was absolutely fascinated by her process - draw circles (which are actually more scribbles in a circle-type shape), usually identify them as big or little, and then put a sticker on each 'circle.' She did this very deliberately with all the elmo stickers on a sheet. Once she'd gone through the stickers on the sheet, we were done for a while.

The following day (so this is not just a one day project for her!), she pulled up all of the elmo stickers and put them in the trash. Hayden then went back and put down little dog stickers on each circle. She also added more circles (with accompanying dog stickers) to complete the art.

There was definitely a process of creation; she would carefully choose a color for each circle. Sometimes she'd get excited and pull off a sticker, only to realize that she hadn't drawn a circle for it so she would ask me to hold the sticker. She's also figured out that you need to 'pop' the cap back on the marker and does so by shoving it against her chest. Looks painful but she gets it to snap on! After many days of the artwork being on the floor, I pulled it up yesterday and put it on the wall in the hallway at her level. She stopped to examine it carefully. I can't wait to see what else she creates!

Art is fun!