Woo Hoo! Sticker Pictures!

Another Educational Activity to Keep the Kids and Yourself Going Over Spring Break!

This idea grew out of the interesting fact that many children starting at age 5, "give up on drawing". The reason being that what children visualize in their heads does not come out the same way on paper. While I strongly encourage children to continually practice drawing and experimenting with art supplies, this "sticker picture" activity takes the edge off trying to draw some favorite characters and helps children to build a story around a mix of characters that otherwise would not been normally put together.

Materials:

Paper

Crayons/markers

Stickers of all types including cartoon characters from different shows

Children can draw a picture of a setting or place or any people they wish to include in their picture, if they want to. Then encourage them to add stickers on to the picture. It can be other objects, characters that come from two different shows or from the same show if they prefer. You can help build a story by asking where are they? What might the characters be doing together? Are they friends or meeting for the first time? What are they saying? Why might they be in the same place? You can write down what the characters are saying on an index card that you can attach to the picture or older children can add conversation bubbles. My children have made complete books using this activity. It is a great way to help children to use their imagination and develop dialogue. In some cases you may have to make an example first so they get the idea. For other children, particularly those children who feel uncomfortable with their artistic skills, you can draw the setting for them. It is extremely important that you remind children that you are an adult and cartoonists or illustrators are generally adults too. It is unrealistic for children to draw like these adults. Illustrators are professionals that had to practice a great deal before they became successful. Discuss other jobs that most children cannot master because they do not have enough practice yet.

When you do this project feel free to share your children's unique story ideas with us.