Snow time is kid project time

Look at all this beautiful snow that we've had this last week.  Can anyone say snow man time!  Then coco with lots or marshmallows.  

Snow time is also project time, and snow puppy time.  Notice that the snow puppy has a stick tail, because no snow puppy is complete without a proper tail.
  

Awhile back my boys wanted some angry birds t-shirts.  We couldn't find any in their sizes at the stores so I had an idea that I could stencil some on plain t-shirts for them.  I had the shirts and the paint but not really a whole lot of time.  Then my mom sent the kids some official angry birds shirts that she bought in the States, and the project got shelved indefinitely.

Because of all the snow this week, the kids and I have spent a lot of time in-doors warming up after our outdoor snow related activities.  To keep my sanity I needed to find some projects for them to do.Thus, I revisited the angry bird t-shirt project with one minor adjustment.  They could paint the shirts for themselves. 

After I set up the shirts by backing them with freezer paper and a small sheet of cardboard so the paint would not seep through to the back, I asked each boy to paint their own version of an angry bird shirt.  My goal was to not interfere with them or give them examples or pictures to draw from.  I want to help them to learn how to properly use different artistic mediums, but I don't want to control or limit their own creative ideas.

While the boys worked diligently on their projects, I had the opportunity to watch each boy's artistic process.  Normally, I'm too involved in directing their progress or keeping the peace to observe how each child works.  My five-year old just dives right in.  He is spontaneous.  My eight-year-old is a planner.  He plans out his design and will sit looking at the blank spot he wants to fill for minutes before deciding what to paint.  

My little son decided to go with a star wars angry bird theme.  I just love his pink angry bird and his bomb angry bird.  My older son went more traditional with the pigs, stolen eggs, and angry birds.  I had to laugh when I noticed that both my artists signed their work. :)

I'm so glad that I stepped back and let the boys do what they wanted.  It's a fine line between teaching without controlling, and I'm just amazed with how good their shirts turned out without any additional mommy help.