“Make whatever you’d like!”
“A Spikey Animal with Jewels.”
These days, there’s a trend in Visual Arts workshops for kids (and grown-ups!) to have paint-alongs, step-by-step guided drawings, and examples of what the project “should” look like.
“Should” is a terrible word! Let’s recognize that it’s important to have time to be freely creative. Outside, ideally…
Sometimes, it’s important to put some fun supplies out there, and say, "Make whatever you want!” No examples. No failure. No “should.”
Kids are unused to creative freedom in classrooms. Be prepared for them to feel like that’s a little bit of a scary idea. They will ask, “What should I make?”
You can be prepared with some suggestions like, “A picture of your family? A sculpture of your house? Beautiful colors? Your favorite superhero? What do you think?”
Let them choose to make their own thing. Give them time and materials. Then give lots of compliments and recognize what’s unique and special about what they made.
Give 10 minutes for a gallery walk, where students can tell the story of their project.
Clay works particularly well for this because clay supports a student’s understanding that they will change the world.
