Have you ever felt misunderstood? What did you feel inside that you would have liked to share? Inspired by Red: A Crayon’s Story, we will create an artwork that shows just how important it is to be able to express yourself and to be seen by others for who you truly are.
MATERIALS
- Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall
- 9×12” or 8.5×11” white paper
- Scissors
- Tape
- Black marker
- Color crayons, markers, or pencils
TRY IT!
- Read Red: A Crayon’s Story by Michael Hall.
- Engage your child with questions from the “Guiding Questions” below.
- Lay your paper out vertically. Cut a 3” horizontal strip off the top of your paper. Set aside.
- On your other piece of paper, draw a silhouette of a head and shoulders. Cut the shape out.
- On this piece of paper, draw or write words or actions that describe you. Are you strong? Quiet? Caring? Creative? Playful? Think of all of the positive words you would use to describe yourself.On the strip of paper that you set aside, think about a time when someone didn’t see all of these things. How did that feel? Draw this as a color. Add a word that was used to describe you.
- Roll your larger piece together, forming a cylinder. Tape it together.
- Wrap your smaller strip of paper around the larger cylinder. Tape the smaller strip together, making sure not to attach it to the larger cylinder. Talk about how having this label over your piece of art that describes who you really are makes you feel.
- What do you want to do now? Remove the outer label or keep it on as a reminder? You decide! You can tear it up, you can toss it aside, or you can keep it on as a reminder that even though you might be misunderstood at times, who you really are is really the larger cylinder, the one with the positive words and actions on it.
GUIDING QUESTIONS
- Why do you think Red was misunderstood?
- What made Red feel better about himself?
- Have you ever felt misunderstood? How did that make you feel? What did you do when you felt this way?
- What helped him feel better about himself?
LEARNING BEHIND THE PLAY
- Supports the development of social emotional learning skills
- Encourages the use of art making to explore one’s identity
- Reinforces building and construction skills
TAKE IT FURTHER
Ask your child to think about a time when they may have misunderstood someone. After getting to know them, how their ideas of the person changed? How did that happen? What did they learn?