Draw What I Draw!

Good practice getting your kids to listen to you and follow your lead!

ADDED July 28, 2010

Today's activity is very easy and very fun. It involves both following instructions and being creative.

Grab some crayons, some blank paper, and some children at loose ends.

Start the activity off by thinking of a simple shape you could draw, such as a cube or a house. Don't tell the kids what you have in mind, but rather begin drawing the shape slowly, line by line. The kids should copy your every line on their pieces of paper, so when you guys are all done, you will all have the exact same (or extremely similar) shapes.

You've just completed "phase one" of today's activity, the "draw what I draw" part. The kids should announce their guess as to what you've all drawn ("a box!" or "a house!") Admire everyone's copies.

Then, move on to "phase two," wherein everyone makes their version of the shape unique. If you've drawn a cube, you could keep drawing a stack of cubes. Or you could draw the cube in a cup of ice water. If you've drawn a house, you can color your house yellow or blue. Anything goes, and let kids' imagainations run wild!

And now for the final and most fun part of the activity: the kids take the lead. Each child should get a chance to lead the group in drawing a simple shape. Now it's your turn to make a copy of a kid's drawing.

Keep going and you'll be sure to have some lovely art and some entertained children!