Creative Kids

Today was a really fun day!

Daddy is out of town on a little business trip this week, so we've been having lots of good "Mom & the Kids" quality time while he's gone. I decided to make today--our last day before he gets back, and also the last day of our school week--a special day. Yesterday morning, I gave the kids the invitation above, inviting them to "Be Creative Day." It said to wear their smocks for school time and plan to get a little messy creating with me. They were, of course, super excited!

This morning after breakfast, I sent them to their rooms for about 30 minutes while I got everything prepared. I set up different "creating stations" around our living room; there was a painting station, a drawing table, a building station, and a "get creative" station (for everything that didn't fit in another category). I don't have "before" pictures of the others, but here's the building station.

Each station (except the building one) also had a list of suggested projects they might want to try. I walked through the stations with them, and then turned them loose to create. We had so much fun making different things, trying new ideas, and just having fun together. I can't count the number of times one of them told me thank you for having "Be Creative Day."

Here's Lee Anna doing a tape resist painting project. They all three did one of these, and I love how they turned out!

Sawyer took breaks from drawing and painting to do some building (as I suspected that he would). This creation doubled as a jail for some Lego bad guys, and also as a home for some popsicle stick puppets that were created during the day.

One of the biggest hits of the day was this web site, which has simple tutorial videos for drawing lots of different animals. They all took turns choosing animals to draw, and even Sarah Claire was able to do a lot of them. I predict that they'll be visiting this site lots more in the days to come.

We made a couple batches of play dough, and then used some other props to make play dough people and monsters. 

This guy was one of my contributions.:)

When it was time for lunch, all of our tables were covered with "creating" supplies, so we had a picnic on the floor (eating anywhere can be fun if you call it a "picnic!"). 

Then, after some more creating, we took a smoothie break. We are loving all our fresh fruit this time of year!

Here's the completed gallery from the day. They each filled up a whole shelf (plus some) with their creations! They are all arranged and ready for Daddy to admire when he comes home tomorrow.

Lee Anna's favorite drawing was this koala she's pointing to. I'm not sure I have a favorite--they each made so many fun things! It was a great day of making memories, and we all really enjoyed it! I'm guessing this won't be our last "Be Creative Day."