Children love to draw and the homeschool teacher can use this to improve their ability to express themselves. By giving homeschool students a variety of opportunities to be artistic, the homeschooling parent can ensure that the children are able to put forth their views in a safe and healthy environment. Plus this activity gives the homeschool teacher some time off to plan for the next lesson or activity scheduled for the day. It can be played anytime once it has been established with the homeschool students.
The Game
Playing is always much more fun than studying. So make the experience a game and you will have a lot more learning happening. Have pairs made for this game where one homeschool student can see a picture while the other can not. The second homeschool student is the one with the art supplies to draw the picture. The game is simple, the first child guides the second child with descriptions as the second child draws. You can reverse the roles of the children for a second round of the game.
The Learning
The first lesson is that of cooperating with each other. The two homeschool students learn to work as a team. Each understands that they depend on the other for the final outcome and both give it their best shot. The second lesson is sharing in detail. The child has to figure out enough words to explain exactly what he is seeing. The third lesson is understanding what you listen to. The second child needs to formulate a picture in his mind based on all the inputs the first child is giving him.
The Skills Developed
The homeschool children have an improved vocabulary as they search for new words to describe exactly what they have seen. They work at the new words together and make for better conversationalists. The drawing and sketching skills of the children will also improve as they struggle to get the texture and tone of their images just right and as close to the original as possible. They get to express themselves both in words and via the medium of art.
