You know the art lesson.
Everyone sits down. The chalk pastels and fresh construction paper are out. Nana starts teaching.
It’s going to be lovely.
And then…
One kid snaps the exact color everyone else apparently needed. Your youngest’s hand drags directly through the part they just finished. And one child is staring at their picture crying,
“That’s NOT what it was supposed to look like!”
The Art Lesson That Didn’t Go As Planned
So much for our peaceful homeschool art lesson.
But here’s the thing:
Sometimes the art lesson that doesn’t go as planned is exactly the one our kids need.
Because now they have a choice.
They can decide that the accidental blue streak is completely unacceptable and the entire picture is ruined forever.
(We’ve all been there.)
Or they can figure out what to do with it.
Maybe that streak becomes part of the sky or maybe they add more color.
Maybe they decide they actually kind of like it.
Maybe the tree is crooked and the pumpkin is purple and absolutely nothing looks quite like Nana’s.
That’s okay. In fact, it ‘s part of creating AND learning.
Art gives our kids a place to practice something that’s pretty hard to teach from a textbook:
What do I do when something doesn’t turn out the way I expected?
They experiment. They adjust. They make another choice. They keep going.
I think there’s a little homeschool lesson for us parents in there too.
We spend a lot of time making plans… and then we homeschool actual children.
Things go sideways. Lessons take longer. Someone wakes up grumpy. The science experiment doesn’t work. The library book is overdue and apparently under someone’s bed.
We adjust. We figure out what to do next.
And we keep going.
More Ideas to Help When a Homeschool Day Gets Grumpy
Here’s a few more ideas to help when things don’t go as planned:
- When Your Child Says ‘I’m Bad at Art’
- Homeschool Art for the Child Who Hates the Mess
- Why Combine Art and Academics
- Why Adding Art to Homeschool History Makes All the Difference
- Why Art is an Essential Part of Science in Our Homeschool
Remember, You ARE an ARTiST! 🎨
Shawna Wingert is a special education teacher turned writer, speaker and consultant. She is also a homeschooling mom of two brilliant boys with differences and special needs. Shawna has written four books for parents – Everyday Autism, Special Education at Home, Parenting Chaos and her latest, Homeschooling Your Child With Special Needs. She helps parents of children with learning differences, behavioral challenges and special needs every day at DifferentByDesignLearning.com.