Drawing without looking

I'm not afraid of trying new things, especially if they are simple.  My husband and I try to convey this same message to Aidan, because you never know what you might be missing.  I missed out on sushi until I was twenty-three years old, and I wish I had experienced it sooner!

I saw a tip on Reading with Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers Facebook page one day, to try something new with a book.  The tip involved reading a book to your child without showing them the pictures, then having them draw a favorite part of the story.  Using Aidan's own books wouldn't work...he's looked through all of them.  We happened to see some short easy reader stories in the dollar section at Target.  I grabbed a couple that had topics I knew Aidan would enjoy and told him, "No peeking!"

Aidan didn't want to try this activity for about a week each time I offered it as a choice.  He told me he just wanted to see the pictures.  We have a rule at our house though, you have to at least try something first before deciding you don't want to do it, or don't like it.  We talked about this rule a few times before he finally told me one day that he would like to try it.

Before we began I told Aidan he could start drawing any part of the story whenever he felt the need to.  All he had to do was draw what he saw in his head.  I read the story, experimenting with different voices, pitches, and tones so the story would be easier for him to follow.  He started drawing before I finished reading.

This is his finished product.  The page on the right is a scene from the book where a monkey took Bert's shirt, he drew pants because he still had his pants on!  The page on the left is when Bert and Ernie find the treasure chest.  Ernie, or Bert, not sure which, is pulling a sock out of the chest.  I would love to see this activity done with an entire class.  I can only imagine the different kinds of scenes and drawings that would be produced out of one book.

Aidan was dying to see the book's illustration's after he was done with his drawing.  I read it to him again, pointing out the particular scenes he decided to draw.  I asked him if he liked trying this new way of drawing, and if he'd want to do it again sometime.  He did.  It made me happy to know he enjoyed it, but as simple as it was, I was just proud of him for trying something new.

What is your child's favorite new way to draw?

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