It's okay to draw this and that, even in a picture of the sky

Precisely because this is a time of year when the weather fluctuates between rain and sunshine,
it is also a great time to work on a sky-themed project.

Since the weather is such important information for outdoor play and water play,
the children naturally and spontaneously
look at the sky
and react by saying things like,
“It’s raining hard” or “The rain stopped.”

Therefore, today's drawing activity with clouds as the theme
is an easy one to engage with.
Even when looking at picture books,
regarding mackerel clouds and contrails,
👦“I’ve seen those!”
🐢“I saw them when I was three!”
🌸“...I saw them a little while ago.”
🍄“I saw them yesterday.”

What is this, a competition???

In any case, it was clear that their daily lives are closely linked to the clouds.

They had apparently done a collaborative painting about the sky
about two months ago, so
they were able to do it with confidence.

Adding to that,
today we drew on transparent vinyl sheets.
They seemed excited by that special feeling.

Mackerel clouds, contrails, puffy clouds. From the natural associations with clouds, rain fell,
and airplanes flew around.
I could see their ideas expanding.
As art therapists, we find it fun to see how far those associations will go,
but the nursery school teachers
seem to get worried if the ideas are too outlandish.
👩“In a sky picture, a child once drew a house... I wondered if they didn't understand, and what I should do...”
she said with a worried look.
⛰️“When you draw the sky for a long time, don't you start to want the ground?
When I have children in other classes or grades draw the sky or space,
there are always a certain number of children who want the ground,
and they draw houses, trees, and a line for the ground.
I think that is also a natural movement of the heart.”
I answered, sounding like someone who had studied art professionally for once.
👩“Oh, oh, that’s a relief. I thought it was just the children in my class. So there are others. I see. I can understand wanting the ground.”
She was genuinely relieved.
I see, she was that worried.
She was really thinking about what she should do for them.
The wonderful thing about this teacher is that even while she worries like that, she doesn't directly deny it to the child.
But she was clearly anxious about it.

From there,
I shared how today went, mentioning that
there was also someone who drew a Shinkansen cloud 🚄☁️.

The contrail was the work of 🐻.
Until now,
🐻, who usually doesn't speak up quietly on his own,
came to call me over to show me his drawing.
That was the Shinkansen cloud.

Perhaps because he is a bit behind in age,
🐻 tends to start working only after watching what other children are doing.
I also made sure to occasionally give him a sign that I was paying attention to him, saying things like, “Enjoy it in your own way.”

🐻 pulled me along,
pointed at a white lump,
🐻“Shinkansen cloud.”

He spoke on his own!!

⛰️“It’s a Shinkansen cloud, is it? How wonderful. Is it going fast, zoom?”

🐻“...No, it’s where it’s stopped.”
Oh boy! I messed up, I jumped the gun!

⛰️“Where it’s stopped, huh! Yeah, where it’s stopped, that’s cool.”

During this time, another child 🍀 came to call me, but
I couldn't miss this statement from 🐻,
so I brushed off 🍀 and waited for 🐻's “...”
I'm glad I waited 😌

The homeroom teacher was also
moved by this episode,
👩“I have to tell his mother!”

Please do!

⛰️“🐻 probably thought about how he wanted to draw a Shinkansen, but also that the theme for today was the sky, and wondered what to do.
He really put his wisdom to work, didn't he?”
👩“I don't think he considers himself very good at drawing. He probably thought, ‘I want to draw something I like, but the theme is the sky, what should I do? Oh, I know, I'll make it a cloud.’ That kind of wisdom is great, isn't it?”
The teacher understands him so well!

I feel happy, as if I were the one being understood.
It's strange, though.

Talking with the teacher,
I understood once again that adults can get worried like this.
That is precisely why I want to ask:
Please, regarding their drawings,
never deny anything they draw.
Even if it looks outlandish to an adult,
there are often movements of the heart and logic
that are connected in the child's own way.
Even if you are surprised,
please don't deny it,
and if possible, please don't even ask “Why?”
Just accept it by saying, “You drew [this], didn't you?”
Then, the story of the heart that explains “why”
will begin to be told by the child themselves.

Just not denying it is a pretty big thing.
Furthermore,
when you listen to that story of their heart,
trust in you
and their own self-confidence will grow significantly.

Don't worry.
I want to keep planting the seeds
of working together to be close to the children's hearts,
little by little.

#ChildrenAndArt #SkyDrawing #TreeDrawing #HouseDrawing