2/18/09

Creativity & Learning Combined!

Blissdom Attendees! What did you do with your pink, Lands’ End bag from the Nashville conference?

As quickly as I walked in the door, my daughter snatched mine up, and took off with it!

The next day at the craft store, using her Joanne’s gift card, she bought fabric paint. I wondered what she was up to!

My bag turned into her school bag


Groovy-chic bag


Chinese New Year
A few weeks ago, as Abby’s class celebrated Chinese New Year by making masks, she chose to make the pig, one of the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. 2009 is the year of the Ox, but her class made animals to represent the entire calendar.

Since it was pink, I set it out during Valentine’s Day – for a dining room decoration!


And now it’s hanging in my outdoor conversation bathroom!


Creative doghouse
For Abby’s math class, she was required to create a doghouse using smaller-scale plans. She had to scale the plans correctly, creating the stencils for the project, and then use those stencils to create the pieces of the house from cardboard.


A little less than half the value of the assignment was based on the house itself. The other half was from Abby’s assessing the "outside" areas of the shapes and calculating the surface area of the house.

The decorations were extra credit, but probably the most fun and creative part for Abby!


I love creativity and learning combined.

And I think my daughter has discovered some fun with fabric paint!

Do you use your children's art for decoration, and as a way as celebrating their artistic abilities?

31 comments:

An Adventurer in the World said...

VERY cool math project, tell Abby she is blessed to have such a teacher!

I have some of my daughter's clay figures from a historical diorama decorating the laundry area, but other than that, just a few select drawings in frames. Nothing as interesting as the pig mask : )

deb meyers

Chicky said...

The bag is SOO cute! What a creative girl you have there - she'll be making clothes in no time!!!

Kirstin said...

Very cool ideas. I know I need to incorporate more creativity on our learning at home.

Jen - Balancing Beauty and Bedlam said...

Too fun...I want to monogram on mine...we'll see if it happens. :)

Holly Campbell said...

I have saved my girls' art projects in portfolios, and have framed some. There have been a couple of ideas I have seen different places, which if I had more wall space, I would most certainly use! One, was to hang assorted sizes of frames, all painted one color, on a wall. Then, as art work comes home, place it in an appropriate sized frame for a time, with some tape or teacher's putty. This way, art can be rotated as new works appear! The second idea, which I may still try, is to make an outfit using copies of the artwork. Designing a dress, or unique item and display on a dress form!

Julie Gillies said...

I think your Abby and my Emily would be great craft-buddies!

We rotate art pieces on the fridge and various household bulletin boards!

Carmen @ Life with Sprinkles on Top said...

Your daughter is very talented. I love all of her creations.

So I have a question...outdoor conversation bathroom??

Amy said...

Aw, so cute- your family is so darn creative!

Shell in your Pocket said...

That bag is just so cute...my daughter loves to use puffy paint and decorate anything and everything.

How fun!Love the doghouse, too!
-sandy toe

Meredith said...

Very fun!

Melanie said...

My youngest (11) is the one who makes cards and draws pictures for me. He usually draws just the two of us and sometimes the dog is in the picture. He often draws a lemon tree in the background b/c he knows it's my favorite fruit! I keep his work.
Melanie@Bella~Mella

Melanie said...

Oh and what a great pink piggie!
Melanie@Bella~Mella

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

Way to go, Abby!

We're all about encouraging creativity (kid-level, self-service art supply cabinet) to celebrating it by showing off their masterpieces!

Carmen @ Life with Sprinkles on Top said...

Oh wow! I love the outdoor bathroom. I get it now. ;) Thanks for linking to it.

Anonymous said...

My bag is still sitting here next to my desk. Im with Jen,I may put a monogram on the front. That is if my daughter doesn't grab it first~

Zaankali said...

Peace signs must be THE thing right now. My 13yr old has them on everything she owns right now.
Smiles!

Rebecca said...

Awesome decoration of that bag! :)

Donnetta said...

Yes, I do use their artwork. In fact, just the other day I was using a cereal box to store my recipe magazines. (Have you seen how to cut it out to be used for magazine storage?) anyway... I needed to cover the outside of it.

Each week for handwriting my daughter writes out a verse and then colors the page.

I grabbed one of the more recent ones that I had saved and glued it to the outside of the box. My box is covered and I get to enjoy her work at the same time.

Abby did a very fun and colorful job on that bag!

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

I love what you did with the bag....very cute!!

Lisa

50s Housewife said...

Abby is so creative! My older daughter decorated her fabric lunch box with paint. I never thought to let her do a school bag.

Ms. Tee said...

How cute! Your daughter's so creative. My son loves art and we have his stuff hanging up everywhere. :)

Anonymous said...

Your daughter's artwork is inspiring! My bag just became my new diaper bag (2 kids in diapers and another on the way = I need a big bag!)

Rebecca E. Parsons/Cre8Tiva said...

creativiity is learning and what i am all about!!! great post and wonderful images...

Monkey Giggles said...

very cool... creativity is what it's about. Since I homeschool 3 very creative people and am married to one, it's hard not get be inspired by them. I roll with it.

jennykate77 said...

What a cool kid you have...she is VERY creative!

Melissa @ The Inspired Room said...

How cute is that! Very creative! :-)

sweetfunkyvintage said...

so fun!

LuLu said...

Cute bag! I have a bookcase in our hallway next to the bedrooms that holds there school creations! I need to place some in a box it's getting crowded! The pig mask to to fun in the bathroom!
LuLu

Carrie @ Cottage Cozy said...

What a darling job your daughter did on that bag! It feels good to be creative...gets the inner juices flowing. It looks like the "creativity gene" doesn't fall far from the tree! I like to think there is always learning involved with being creative, in one way or another. Thanks so much for visiting my blog and leaving a comment, Sandy. I look forward to checking back with you again soon.

Stay Cozy, Carrie

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

How fun that she snatched your bag! And peace signs are in again, who knew?! I remember doing all sorts of scribbling all over my book stuff way back when too.

My bag is sitting in the closet. :)

Anonymous said...

Adorable! What a bright and energetic tote! My daughters are 2.5 and 2 months (in a week...too fast, wah!) and we've always displayed my older daughters artwork. She loves it, I like being able to validate her efforts, and cray-pa drawings always look stunning in simple black frames. :o)