Art Challenge!

Once and a while, I have a really brilliant idea. My latest was one that involves the kids doing some quality "playing" while at the same time giving me a chance to be productive and also enjoy their presence. It is called "ART CHALLENGE"

It all started with Claire wanting to draw a rainbow, and Lance drawing the lines on the paper for her to color in. When Fisher got wind of this, he wanted in on the action, and soon we were in the middle of our first "art challenge." The "challenge" was to draw a picture of a rainbow. Here are the results:


This is Claire's creation: Above the rainbow she drew the sky, a bird and some clouds. Below you will see some flowers, a tortoise, and Holland, Fisher, Me and Claire (Daddy and Jenny are at work).



Fisher's drawing included birds, rain, cornstalks, a pot of gold, a leprechaun, a dead bird, the sun, some sunflowers, and a tortoise... can you spot them all?

It was really fun to listen to them think of new things to draw and get excited about what they were able to create. We did have to keep reminding Fisher that Claire is "only 4," because he kept pointing out the superiority of his sketches to hers...

The next night, Lance was golfing, and I was trying to make dinner, and it was the dreaded 5-6 o'clock hour, when you are beyond ready to be done with solo-parenting ... so I announced another ART CHALLENGE. This time the theme was: Under The Sea.

Like a miracle, the two munchkins responded enthusiastically, whipped out their paper and markers and got to work. Here are the results:


Claire: Ok, not as impressive, but partly because of her brother's discouragement. She did more of a "pond" with some seaweed. Before she could jazz it up with some fish, my little perfectionist had moved on to drawing princesses on another, self-initiated art challenge...


This is Fisher's- what a masculine take on "under the sea!" He drew a submarine and a killer whale, a scuba diver, some seaweed, and I'm not sure what that in the brown square is... I would have totally gone for mermaids and rainbow colored Fish when I was his age.

Anyway, it was one of those blissful mommy moments when my children and I were happy together in the warmth of my kitchen. They were using their brains, being (mostly) kind to one another, and I was able to be part of it with them (but also making chili at the same time.) Holland was a happy baby too- she can feed herself puffs now, and it has opened a whole new level of baby-entertainment for us... bliss.

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