Long rolls of white paper with minimal outlines for support are a great resource to inspire creativity in children.
This is an idea I got from a colleague of mine, and my young pupils absolutely loved it. The entire lower part of my classroom walls literally became my pupil’s canvas for the whole school year. It inspired so much creativity in developing both art and story themes.
On rolls of white card paper and just drew simple outlines of houses, buildings, buses, cars, complete with empty windows and blank doors and invited them to complete the mural picture. Every art session we had, they were so eager to add more to their mural and couldn’t seem to get enough of it. They were able to imagine, draw, colour, to their hearts content.
I was able to learn more about each child, and what interested them, the people, pets, things, and places that were important to them. They had the opportunity to visually share these with their classmates and friends.
This art activity also presented multiple opportunities for the children to refine their social skills as they had to negotiate spaces as they worked out between themselves whose space went where, where they wanted to draw their school, the park, etc. The children took great delight in showing me their houses and their frequent additions to their neighbourhood.
The chat that the children engaged in with each other as well as with me while we were working on it was truly memorable. The most delightful art projects and story-telling sessions with young child and joyful memories are created when we are able to link-in with those ideas that are truly meaningful to each child and support them to showcase their creativity as this will inspire their confidence.
Children have endless creativity inside them and it is such a joy to be able nurture their creativity.