Having shown an interest in the snails and watched them for a while she chose to draw a picture, she drew the two pictures on the left, top down views of the snails with their shells on their backs, the way she saw them from the top of the box. I don't know what compelled me to do it but after praising her efforts I suggested she draw one from the side, a view that we are all more comfortable with and the 'normal' way to draw a snail, I don't really know why I did it and had to have a more 'normal' image of a snail to pin to the wall. I regretted it afterwards and wished I hadn't done that. Why did her drawing have to be like everyone elses?
It was this comment left on my snail post that really got me thinking about what had happened in that drawing session and has caused me to think about my actions several times since then.
''.......I am completely smitten with her drawings. In the UK an adult or older child
would never draw a top down view of a snail like that, as she gets older she'll
realise it's not usual and wouldn't do it. So much creativity is stifled by accepted
norms - alas it's the same for everybody :) ''
- Comment from www.TheBrickCastle.com
I was thinking about what I could write in this post and a few examples I could use to indicate how much we dictate our children's creativity and persuade them to conform to the 'norm' if there is such a thing, when two examples were presented to me that very afternoon.
Firstly Little 2 wanted the train track out, I was pottering and finishing off some housework so she set out building a track by herself, she did really well and built this all by herself over about 5 minutes (from the bridge until the end).
Firstly Little 2 wanted the train track out, I was pottering and finishing off some housework so she set out building a track by herself, she did really well and built this all by herself over about 5 minutes (from the bridge until the end).
I had then finished my jobs and went to join her by helping build the track on the other side of the bridge and back around until I ran out of track. Now if I had built the whole track I would have ensured it had met in the middle or altered it so that it did when I'd run out of pieces, why, because it just had to in my mind. But as Little 2 had built most of the track herself and was pleased with her efforts (and with this post in mind) I didn't do anything else.
We played with our track for a good hour and then ended up singing train and car related songs as she sat in the box and drove a train/car. I am glad I left the track as it was and didn't change it, what did it matter anyway?
The second incidence was just half an hour later when I collected Little 1 from school, as I checked her school bag for notes etc I pulled out a pile of colouring pages she had done. 5 pictures were Christmas pictures that she had coloured in multi colours using every available shade (see below). This is how she has coloured in since the summer, all her pictures look like this at the moment, it is what she likes to do and I don't have a problem with it. She knows that a baby is not green and a mince pie is brown, she is proud of her artwork and so are we.
The next picture I found was a colour by numbers christmas tree, all coloured correctly as per the instructions and with a comment underneath it, Great colouring Little 1, which had obviously come from one of the teaching staff. Little 1 spotted me looking at it and told me that she had shown the multicoloured work to her teaching assistant who had asked her if she would like to do another colouring and gave her the colour by numbers, it may just have been a coincidence or a class activity I have no idea but was it a subtle suggestion that this was the way it should be done?? After all there were no comments on the other colouring pages!
So having spent the past few days thinking about what I say and what I do relating to the Little ones I have realised just how much, in daily life, I guide them towards the norm or tell them something has to be this way, make suggestions or guide them when they are doing something.
I hereby promise that I will take a step back and let them be children, let them use their creativity their way and let them do it the way they want to do it and not try to 'help' or correct them too much, after all society will knock them into shape whether I like it or not sooner or later.
(I also promise that later on when we decorate the Christmas tree with Daddy I will not adjust the baubles when the children have gone to bed even if it means they are all on the same square foot of tree.)
Do you let your child be free to do things their way or do you correct them and guide them towards the socially acceptable norm or they way you would do it?? What do they do when we take a step back and just let them be??
My son loves to draw so much! I would like to think that he got it from me but I dont know its probably how kids learn and grow. I dont really control him. After drawing I would ask him to explain the drawings to me and like your child he would draw things differently. I just let him be with this. I want him to find his voice in drawing =) #binkylinky
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant post! I have really enjoyed reading it. It is a great reminder that we shouldn't stifle our children's creativity. Those colouring pages are full of life and colour, and that snail from the top... I would never have thought of doing it myself! I will try and take a step back, too!
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely post and I can't believe that my comment so long ago has been in your mind so much.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very hard to leave them to just create freely, we have practised and think we know more effective ways to get our point across, or that a train track generally runs better when it's circular, but the ingenuity they have can make something so much more magical, personal and sometimes genius.
And I'm totally with you on the colouring - a brown mince pie would make a very boring picture, and 'skintone' crayons are never right. She's coloured very neatly and it looks beautiful, so she can have a 'nice work' from me at least :D
Thank you so much for the mention xx Merry Christmas to you all (including green Jesus).
(I know I won't be able to resist a little readjustment of some of the baubles once mine have gone to bed ;) )
ReplyDeleteI am horrible for this its a flaw I know it but I can't leave the control behind and let them fully get into it yet. They are babies and I struggle to not jump in to make everything look nice and perfect. I keep promising when they get a bit older I will get better it's a work in progress as I want them to shine with their own creativity. Still can't ever let them decorate the tree without rearranging just can't happen. hahahaha Thanks for linking up to Share With Me Happy Holidays! #sharewithme
ReplyDeletereally really interesting post, it is amazing how much we encourage them to do things 'Normally' or 'properly' without even thinking why. Monkey and I were going some drawing yesterday and asked me to draw some green spaghetti with red bits. My initial reaction was to say that was silly but I stopped myself. I've no idea why he wanted green spaghetti but I went with it, good to let them he kids and as creative and imaginative as they like! Having said that, I have been there with the train track and really struggle when it doesn't all link up!,Great post :) #letkidsbekids
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I think there needs to be a balance between children being creative alone, which they definitely need to do without our constraints, as there really is no right or wrong, but also some assistance at times may be good to help guide them in other possibilities they have maybe not thought of. It's not correcting them, more accepting what they have done, praising and showing them alternatives too.
ReplyDeleteI love the multicoloured colouring.
Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids
I'm guilty of stifling my girls sometimes. I'm the sort of person where a tree is green and brown, not pink and blue! I need to relax more and let my girls play more creatively and freely I think. Love her drawings. Thanks for linking up to the #BinkyLinky
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and commenting x
ReplyDelete