On Friday, Zander took Valentine's to his teachers, and I told him that on the back of them he could write his name, or do whatever he wanted to do. He chose to draw a picture of himself and each teacher. I thought it was the cutest thing ever, and actually scanned them into my computer knowing that I had to give the adorable little drawings away. Here is one of the hearts he decorated....
The teachers loved them, and after opening them started talking about how creative Zander is. They said they always can tell which painting/drawing is his because there is some elaborate story behind them. An alien saving the world, a robot kid, a boy playing on a slide with his favorite toy, a superhero etc. I laughed and said "that is my Zander - 100%" then I said "come to think of it, Kaden was EXACTLY the same way!" and they agreed, remember the days when he was in their class, and drawing them elaborate pictures. I did not think much more about it, until I got home. I then started to remember Kaden making entire comic books BEFORE he even knew how to read or write. They would have detailed stories, and I would either write them for him, or he would just leave them blank & "read" them by looking at the pictures.
Then I thought of Ellie. We've always told her she is an artist because she LOVES to draw and paint, and is very good at it. OF course, there are no aliens & robots like Zander draws, or pirates which were always Kaden's favorites. She is all about rainbows & flowers and drawing cute little animals :) In fact, this summer I bought her a book that I remembered loving as a child. Yes, I have always loved all things art too. Art & books make up alot of my childhood memories.
All of this made me wonder about my kids. Did they get this love of art from their Dad (who can also draw) & I? And what about the artistic talent they all seem to have? Were they born with it? Or have I instilled it in them through our near-daily creative activities? I never intended to have time each day for art, but my kids have started early asking to color, and I've always let them. THere has always been paper, crayons & markers available for them. I never even realized it, because it is just a normal thing around here...
So,what do you think? Do your children have a love/talent for something specific? Do you enjoy it as well? Have I taught my children to love art or just allowed them to further explore something they were born to enjoy?
*I've not mentioned Ava in this post, but as you can see from the pictures - she already joins in the creativity :)
6 comments:
They look like my kids - always working on some little project. Sydney even made all of her own valentine's for her class. I love their creativity.
I think most kids like to do projects of one kind or another. My son is not much into just drawing, but give him tape or glue or glitter and he's at it for at least an hour.
I do think some of it depends on the parents though. If the kids don't have the supplies then they can't create.
I think it's a combination of their natural interest and having the tools available to take advantage of them.
We always have art supplies available, but some of my children definitely show more interest and talent than others. Likewise, the music instruments and toys are loved more by some of my kids than others.
Keep up the good work nurturing the talents that they have!
(By the way, I hated to color as a child, and never enjoyed drawing or painting. I can be creative in photography or scrapbooking, though, so I'm not completely devoid of artistic skills!)
HI! My name is Jen, I am 32 mother of 2 boys, and stepmom of 1 girl and 2 more boys. I am searching out some new blogging buddies and stumbled across this one.... the first post I saw was about a little boy named Zander, and since that is the name of my little 2 year old I thought wow, this is fate! I might be moving to Arkansas in the next few months..... does that qualify me to be friends with you guys??
Check out my blog or email me if you are looking for a new friend!
Jen
jenstaley@msn.com
I agree with Linda - I think it's a combination. I'm not very artistic at all, but we have a big art table and the boys have always enjoyed drawing, albeit in very different styles! The boys also truly love books. Partly nature, partly nurture. You can't take four steps without tripping over somebody's book here!
I'm not sure, but you should be patting yourself on the back because 1) You gave them the tools. 2) You honor their efforts. 3) You gave them the space and time to create.
That is something to be proud of... and with those combinations, whether they were born with the talent or not, they can decide whether they enjoy this, and whether to continue. That's a gift.
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