Creative Strokes

Twice a week 4-5 of my P4 girls come to my home to engage in a short English lesson or some other fun activity. We have been reading through some stories together and most recently I read the book Hot Hippo. Not only does this book have a storyline that is easily relatable to children here because it’s written about an animal common to e. Africa, but the pictures are also full of vibrancy and color. We have enjoyed together the humor of this fable and this author’s creative take on why the hippo lives both on land and in water. Once the girls became familiar enough with the story I had them use water colors to create their own picture choosing whatever part of the story they wanted. In just the matter of an hour I watched these girls transform a blank white piece of paper with the stroke of a brush and use of creative minds into a beautiful work of art. I don’t think I could ever get tired of watching children create.