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| Bear hibernating underground by Camryn |
Last week Andrew had to complete a book report for school. He attends an Art Based program because it allows him to express himself in other ways besides sitting in a desk for 7 hours with pencil in hand which is something even I would dread. Last year he did a dance about electrons, a Power Point presentation about the Great Depression, and sang about the fur trade. It really is an awesome school. Of course like any regular book report it had to have a title and a summary that didn't give away the ending. The only other requirements that his amazing teacher Mrs. E. gave were that it had to be presented in a unique and engaging way. The method and materials used was left up to the student. In other words we had a whole lot of free range with this. I say "we" because Andrew really needs help organizing his thoughts and projects. Last October he had a French project where they had to make a mobile. You know like you'd hang over a baby's crib only this one probably wouldn't have met the Canadian Standards Council guidelines for baby products. Still an interesting way to showcase his knowledge of all things Halloween in French. It was a great idea but not one that is easily pulled off in an hour while trying to get dinner on the table and help Camryn with her homework for the night as well. I'm working on cloning myself though so that in future this is a breeze. Yah, don't hold your breath for that one.
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| Various trucks by Andrew |
I'll confess that Camryn and I did a good chunk of the coloring on the mobile but we had a good excuse. We didn't find out about it until the night before it was due and Drew has fine and gross motor issues so large amounts of printing and coloring are very hard for him. This project had no shortage of either task. He did the printing but the bulk of the coloring was done in an assembly line fashion. Of course I always let him direct things and try to keep my mouth shut as much as possible. I figure my job is to be the hands and not the brains. Drew is perfectly capable of being way more creative than I could ever dream of. And for those of you who think he'll have an unfair advantage by having me do his coloring I will let you know that I have made children cry with my drawing. Namely Camryn. She has sobbed more than once when I tried to draw something like a dragon for her. I guess it wasn't what she imagined in her mind. It wasn't really what I imagined in mine either. I have a serious problem with spacial relations and so I can't draw much of anything without making myself want to cry too. Let's just say I'll never be able to quit my day job to pursue art. At least not if eating remains important to me. Therefore I don't have the least bit of guilt being the coloring mule for my son. I just hope he can overcome the disadvantage I have thrust upon him by "helping".
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| Penguin by Camryn |
So Andrew chose the book series "39 Clues" for his report. I read the first book in the series so that I could understand the characters and the plot when we started the project. After all it's hard to prompt Andrew through something I don't have a clue about in the first place. An interesting read for those of you looking for a little mystery and adventure. I think it speaks to the draw of the storyline that Andrew has plowed through them given he also has a reading disability. I confess that there were times when I just couldn't put the book down myself. The series also has the added bonus of tossing a little bit of history and geography into the mix. I can't say that liberties weren't taken with some of the historical facts for the sake of the plot but it would be an interesting jump off point of discussion for those who are looking for something more than just mindless fiction. For the project Drew decided to make a poster with 3D artifacts from the book. Of course we had to find a way that he could create these items so we bought some craft foam, some new markers, glue, pieces of felt, etc. After Andrew completed the project we had lots of extra supplies so I just left the materials out for the kids. I haven't had to ask them to turn off the television or put away the DS once in 3 days. They've been busy little bees cutting gluing and our newest thing....stapling this thing to that. I'm talking hours and hours of enjoyment for less than $15. It created quite the mess but the stuff they came up with on their own has been fun to discover. So my house looks like the art fairy puked all over.
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| Oh my..... |
You may think that I am likening my children's art to vomit but please understand I think they are geniuses in this realm. I say that only because they have overcome my genetics to be able to produce something you might actually recognize as art. If that's not amazing I don't know what is. It's not their creations that are puke-like but rather the process and the "creativity" that is left behind all over my living room floor that is something to behold. Please don't misunderstand I love that my kids just run with their ideas. What they create is so cool it blows my mind. I just wish that the art fairy would clean up when they've finished spewing their brilliance all over the house. Gravol anyone?
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