I love anything my son makes. In this, my first go at motherhood, the novelty alone of unpacking his school backpack to find a crinkled, wrinkled, hand-print turkey with his name in dark Sharpee at the bottom makes my heart sing. I love the ensuing conversation we have: Me: “Jack! You made a turkey!?” Jack: “Jack a turkey!?” (he’s 2). I dutifully Artkive the hand-turkey along with the goggly-eyed foot-lobster and paper-bag octopus. They are treasures, and I treasure them.
When we make stuff together though, there’s rarely a photographable product. The treasure for me in these joint art projects is the process: searching for inspiration, deciding on materials, sitting quietly and sometimes loudly together and making a huge mess to create something we can’t quite keep or define. Below are some ideas for process-based art, and books that can serve as a jumping off point.
Lots of Dots, by Craig Frazier
By far, this is one of my favorite books of the moment. Lots of Dots is one of many picture books dedicated to the dot (Ten Black Dots, Press Here, & The Dot among others). This one really has its dots all figured out though. They’re colorful, they’re engaging, and the color contrasts and dot formations are the perfect inspiration for a paint dot mural, or some simple, striking sticker compositions (great for those fine motor muscles). In my house, all circle clusters are now referred to as “yots of dops.”
It’s An Orange Aardvark, by Michael Hall
Things aren’t always what they seem, as the carpenter ants discover in this exciting and colorful story by Michael Hall (author/illustrator of the equally inspiring Perfect Square). Similarly, in art-making, things don’t always turn out as planned. I’ve been experimenting with composing invitations to create, an idea I discovered on the endlessly creative Tinkerlab Blog. The joy in setting up these creative tables, is the open-endedness, and perhaps never-endingness of the creative journey.
Mix It Up! by Hervé Tullet
This is where things begin to get a bit messy. Books about mixing colors are plentiful and beautiful. A few standby favorites include Color Dance by Ann Jonas and Little Blue and Little Yellow by Leo Lionni. Hervé Tullet’s Mix It Up! begs for butcher paper to be placed on the floor, and for the washable paints to be unleashed. Use brushes, sponges, hands, toy cars, even feet to explore endlessly how colors look, feel, and interact. For a no-mess sensory exploration, pour two to three paint colors in a large ziploc bag and tape it shut. Squish around and see the colors mix, bubble, slip and slide!
Wednesday, by Anne Bertier
Wednesday is a minimalists dream. It’s one of those books you’ll both want to read to your kids and then keep on the coffee table long after they’ve gone to bed. Shapes meet, divide, multiply, and become other shapes, objects and beings in the most creative and engaging ways. This book perfectly sets the tone for a play session with pattern blocks or magna tiles. For a more DIY exploration–cut out different basic shapes (no need to be perfect) out of different colored/textured paper and unroll a few feet of clear Con-Tact paper. Let your child stick the shapes to the paper to create a glue-free collage.
Looking for a great place to get these books? Try your local library, or sign up for Beanstack for free to explore similar books based on your child’s age and interests. If you’d rather buy them in New York City, I like Books of Wonder, Community Bookstore, and the Bank Street Bookstore.
Jessica Ralli coordinates early literacy programs for children 0-5 at the Brooklyn Public Library, and has an MA in Early Childhood Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. In her spare time, she likes making stuff and going places with her very active 2 year old son, Jack. Jessica lives in Brooklyn (15 years and counting) with her husband, son and their whippet/lab mix named Mia. Her opinions are her own and do not reflect those of BPL. She tweets her early literacy adventures at twitter.com/jessicaearlylit.