This class is a fun way to get artists to mix their drawing skills with their great imagination to keep them drawing regularly in their sketchbooks!  At the beginning of each class, Ms. Susan will give the students a specific compound word, idiom, or phrase to discuss its true meaning first.  

However, instead of drawing what it truly means, the students will be challenged to draw it as if they have never heard of that word or phrase and use only clues from words within the phrase to come up with a visual idea for it.   (The word that inspired the drawing on the cover of this class is HOUSECOAT,  but there are many other possible solutions for this word, too.)  

Students will brainstorm with each other as they are challenged to "think outside the box" to come up with a very imaginative solution that is NOT the true meaning of the word but visually matches the word or phrase.  The verbal brainstorming process with the group is so good for our creative minds to help us not just draw the first thing that pops into our head but really stretch our ideas to consider all the possibilities before making our decision.  The group does not even need to agree on 1 idea for everyone to do; instead, each child can choose the solution that he or she is most excited about drawing.  

Children enjoy this creative challenge, and it's a great exercise for growing artists. Each child's drawing will be unique, and they can even add color to the drawings while we are in class or just keep working on more & more details or color independently after class ends. 

Ms. Susan will present a different word or phrase challenge each week, so students could begin this class at any time and not be behind at all.  It’s really a fun way to practice pairing our drawing skills with our creative imagination!  Please understand, though, that we need to keep the specific word or phrase a complete surprise each week so that the children get the full benefit of experiencing the brainstorming session with the group & allowing their ideas to build upon each other’s.  These are some general clues about the themes of our first few classes.

Week 1 (Sept 4):  (A Surprise COMPOUND WORD)
Week 2 (Sept 11): (No Class Today & You Will Not Be Charged so No Need to Pause)
Week 3 (Sept 18):  (A Surprise IDIOM)
Week 4 (Sept 25):  (A Surprise COMPOUND WORD)
Week 5 (Oct 2):  (A Surprise IDIOM)
We'll continue with the surprise words or phrases each week so that students can benefit from the brainstorming session instead of coming into class with a decision already made for their own idea.


PLEASE NOTE:  This class works best with several students attending so we can build off of each others ideas.  However, as we get the class started during Sept 2024, we will still have class if fewer than 2 students are attending so that we allow more time for others to join our class.  In Sept, If we happen to have only 1 student in class, I will still  teach it as a one-on-one drawing session but we may finish a few minutes earlier with fewer people brainstorming together.  And if your child occasionally misses a class, it will still be fun for him or her to watch the video recording of our class and still make their own drawing to show us the following week.