Kristy, Claudia, Mary Anne, and company were always very careful in their phrasing when taking care of their baby-sitting charges. When a kid drew a picture that, to the baby-sitter, just looked like a bunch of scribbles they would always ask the child to "tell me about your picture" rather than asking what the picture was. Author Ann M. Martin explained that asking a child what their picture is could be potentially offensive. After all, it's probably obvious to the artist what he/she has drawn, so why can't everyone else see it? "Tell me about your picture" can be a gentler, more productive way of talking about artwork that doesn't imply that the artist isn't good at drawing, and in my mind it is also a better frame for opening an extended dialogue about the picture's subject.
How does this relate to what I do at the library? During the summer months we have an activity table with different small projects available for kids to try. This week we are asking kids to draw a picture showing a dream that they have had. When the child brings their artwork to the children's desk and shows it to us, they earn an extra raffle ticket that they can use to enter our big end-of-summer drawing for prizes. This week I've looked at about 200 drawings - many of which are easily interpreted, but many more of which make a lot more sense with a little explanation. Needless to say, I've been putting Ann M. Martin's advice to good use this week!
The interesting thing that I have noticed is that it's even beneficial to use use the phrase "tell me about your picture" with older children who draw very well. This week I have often found that the story behind the finished picture is actually a lot more complicated than the image implies. It's great to hear kids of all ages talking about their inspiration and to hear the details of their sleeping and waking dreams.
So thank you, Ann M. Martin, for your sound advice. It's amazing what little details from books will stick with you!
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