Little Books = Big Stories

Years ago I was lucky enough to sit in on some book-making workshops while still living in Chicago. The process was satisfying and the product prompted all sorts of ideas to use with children. Around that same time I became interested in using stamps/stamping to tell a story.  Always looking for ways to help children tell their stories and realizing that drawing could be frustrating or intimidating, I thought about cartooning, which led me to the use of stamps and stamping.

Here I combine the media for use with my four year old. She has officially entered the magical world of inventing and reciting stories and wanting us to make up our own. And in good timing, a friend recently gifted us with stamps her children no longer use (thank you Ann!).

Here is a three point binding:

Using a piece of ribbon or yarn, come up through the hole on one end and down through the hole on the opposite end.  Then come up through the center hole with each end of the yarn. You can tie a bow or knot with the ends of the yarn to finish off the binding.  A bead or other small object can be added here for additional decoration.

For an accordion book, simply fold a long, rectangle-shaped paper, in half, then half again and again, until you are satisfied with the number of frames you have.  I glued a second folded paper to my first to expand the pages I would have to work in.

Once we had our books prepared, I made a started sample to show my daughter the concept without giving her the whole story.

My daughter quickly got to work, silent at first then chatting away about what was happening on her pages.

And here is her finished book…

“Once upon a time there was a very lonely frog and he wanted a playmate and he stayed in the water all day long. He waited and he waited and he could not miss abong.” (couldn’t get to the bottom of what that last word means!)

“The hummingbird decided she would have the day off with no one.”

“Night came and the stars came out. The frog was still waiting for a friend. He yelled out to the darkness.”

“In the morning he noticed he had a new playmate and they had a big wedding and they kissed and kissed and had big cakes and pies. They had a BIG party. The End.” – the blue half circle with symbols are the “decorations”

What would be the next logical thing to do once you’ve finished making your own book? Share it!

THE END!!

Sick Day

Amid the popsicles and PBS shows were stabs at identifying where the germs were in our bodies…not the easiest of images to see but do note the “germs” drawn by my four year old on her body tracing in the stomach, hair (!) and head spots. The elbow area is well, just her elbow!

Next we made a picture of what could help us get better.  She suggested a “rainbow salad”.  Below is her bowl full of fruits we drew together. Overall, a nice distraction and opportunity to connect with what is happening in her body and how she can help herself!

Line & Shape

Aren’t all images made up of lines and shapes? Our 3 year old has been more and more engaged in mark making in the last few weeks. We’ve been talking about how everything can be broken down into lines and shapes.  You can see how the ongoing dialog is helping her to organize her ideas. I notice a greater concentration and focus as well. So cool!! I post the images in the sequence in which they were created, over a several day period.

You’ve gotta love the “hair” in this one…

Worry Doll Follow-Up

Here are some of the worry dolls created by the elementary school children I worked with in May. Some of the children shared their worries during the art making process. Their ages were reflected in the types of worries they articulated.  For example, the younger children talked more about characters from stories which caused them distress while some of the older children talked about getting into trouble at school and having to face their parents. One young girl in particular began group very disorganized and needed much 1:1 attention from me.  Once she was able to focus on the doll making, she became lost in the process.  She was able to work independently for short spells and seemed to calm down.  Another child talked incessently about how she needed a “big doll for my big worries and a small doll for my small worries”. It seemed that she was creating order through the process of separating out her needs and devising a plan.

It was my honor to work with the students and I hope that the dolls continue to bring both joy and relief to their experiences.

Creative Coping and Following Their Lead

A terrible day for our three year old over the weekend.  She had talked her father into a ruby red, star-covered, helium balloon from the Memorial Day festivities. We watched many balloons soar into the sky, leaving behind sobbing little ones.

She had her ear-full of “don’t let go of it” and “watch out for …” while carrying it back to the car. Later in the day, her father took her for a bike ride.  She wanted to bring the balloon so we tied it to the trailer.  Sadly, the balloon untied on it’s own and drifted away shortly after they got to the playground.  They came home and Ella was eager to tell me what had happened and how sad she was. She asked if we could make a picture to show what had happened (first time she’s ever asked).

I drew some cartoon boxes and had her tell me frame by frame how the terrible event unfolded.  

She described riding in the trailer, getting to the playground, meeting two girls and then watching the balloon float away.  What is interesting about this is the time she then spent swirling glitter paint colors over the emotionally charged image of herself.  This was the only box she gave special attention to and made her own marks on.  I speculate that she was able to sit with the difficult feelings more easily through the character and the fluid property of the glitter paint allowed her to become lost in the process. She softened while working here, several times asking me to get the glitter out of her character’s eyes.  She decided the glitter made the little girl feel better.

This three year old knew exactly what she needed to move through the painful experience.  Our job was to listen to what she was asking for and to sit with her through the uncomfortable feelings.