Hi John,
Not too long ago, I found myself sitting outside the community center on one of those benches that's either too hot or too cold, waiting for my eldest to wrap up their theater class.
Beside me, my preschooler was doing the all-too-familiar wiggle dance of boredom leading me to scramble for entertainment solutions.
I usually carried a sketchbook and markers in my bag for these moments.
Pulling them out, I handed my 4-year old a marker, and suggested a "back-and-forth drawing game."
I started with a simple squiggle; they transformed it into something unexpectedly meaningful.
Back and forth we went, each adding to the other's doodles, no rules, just fun.
Then the magic hit.
Those squiggles and doodles started to look like something out of a storybook.
A spiral became a snail on a journey.
A long line became a balloon flying off towards the sun.
There, on that uncomfortably cold bench, we stumbled upon our own secret world.
All you need is a pencil and paper to make this magic happen.
Steps for 2-person back-and-forth drawing:
- Start with two sheets of paper and two pencils or markers ✏️✏️
- Each person draws a squiggle on their paper, then swaps papers with the other person
- Respond to the original squiggle with the addition of new squiggles, lines, or narrative drawing
- Pass the papers back and forth and continue adding to the drawings until you decide you're done
- Share out and reflect on what you co-created
- Bonus points for laughing along the way 😜
p.s. That preschooler, now older, conjured up a new game to pull me into their creative world. It's called "Collaborative Drawing Storytelling," and it's designed to help us find moments of connection with kids through art and story. TinkerLab Members can find this activity in the Schoolhouse Hub: Let's turn squiggles into stories in Collaborative Drawing Storytelling.
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Useful Resources
Whatever your next creative project might be, if you need some help I have tons of resources waiting for you. Pop over to the blog for creative activity ideas, there are free toolson the Creativity Resources page of my website, and find affordable classes in my shop. Follow along and see what I'm up to this week over onInstagram.
