What you may not see here…but makes me honestly get teary!
When some of these children first came to art class they were SO hesitant to try new things. So worried about not getting it right or getting upset if a line or colour or mark turned out differently to what they expected that they’d immediately request a new piece of paper.
When I offered a totally new material today, the children willingly opened themselves up to give it a try - adding to a previous artwork which is also a big step by the way! I watched them as they confidently selected different colours and played with the colour to transform their page.
But what is with the dot?
This little dot was an accidental spill on this child's paper. In the past this would have led to immense frustrating and blocked her from continuing.
The children were all holding up their artworks into the light, showing each other and exclaiming over the beautiful patterns and lines and the images they saw emerging from them. This child held hers up and said "Look, I made that into a flower!"
In that moment, my heart exploded with pride in her! I literally took her hands, looked into her eyes with teary eyes and said "I AM SO PROUD OF YOU RIGHT NOW".
"It was an accident but I turned it into something" she said, almost casually, but pride was shining out of her eyes too.
I'm not sure how to actually express how big this is for her. In the past she would have gotten very stuck in her mind about it, wanted a new paper, gotten upset with the accident on her paper. Today she transformed it with EASE.
THIS is growth mindset. This is true creative confidence! This is what LIGHTS ME UP.
It shows:
Resilience.
Creative problem-solving.
Flexibility.
Self-TRUST.
Open-mindedness.
I'm often seeing moments of this type of growth.
A child who has been so shy and quiet and requires a lot of support to make choices, selected colour after colour and experimented on her page. I could see her working through her own blocks as she did this. BIG DEAL.
A child who has been tackling portraits all term mastered a part of her drawing she had been wrestling with and exclaimed "I think I got it!". BIG DEAL.
A child who used to be so worried about getting every single thing "right" adding to her picture with total ease and experimenting away. BIG DEAL.
All these little moments that can easily get overlooked are so valuable and important to me as an art teacher. I celebrate every single one of them as much as I can because this is the true magic of art class. Growth mindset and skills that will transfer and carry through into so many areas of these children's lives.
Feeling inspired by these stories of growth and creativity? Join us in fostering a love for art and nurturing your child's creative confidence. Enrol them in our upcoming holiday art classes and watch their imagination soar. Let's continue to celebrate every moment of growth together!