c
Draw/write a book together or make
journals with pictures
c Do a
collective drawing such as a mural (murals tell
a "collective story,"
develop/support teamwork, and feel "safer" for
some children as opposed
to individual art)
c Give the mural
a "place of honor" in the classroom
c Make the mural
accessible for everyday viewing
c Celebrate the
mural: use it to demonstrate getting through
something tough,
or to facilitate discussions
c Take
photos/slides of the mural when completed
c Draw aspects
of the event (people, places, activities, etc.)
c Suggest lots
of options, not specifics (e.g., rather than
saying "draw
a fireman, helping someone," say
"draw a person you saw doing
something helpful.."
c Create a
collage (a variety of materials) using a leading
question such as
"Where were you when the
disaster happened?"
c The teacher
may draw/paste on the central image, then the
children
add photos, magazine pictures,
articles, fabric pieces, etc. around theme,
or
may draw directly onto it
c Collages are
the "safest" form of "drawing" because the
child is
using others’ symbols. The child
may feel he/she is "losing less of
himself/herself"
c Collages
provide "boundaries" for the child; this can act
as a safety
net (emotionally)
for some
c You may also
want to look at other pictures (drawings,
paintings) and
talk about what they communicate
c Avoid the use
of paint in this method as it is too "loose" of
a medium
for a traumatized child; the child
might use it to bring up things not
easily
handled in a classroom
c Allow a full
range of expression: some children draw
recognizable "things",
others draw "abstracts";
respect all varieties
c Allow children
to discard their artwork
c Reassure them
that there is no "right way" to draw
c Only exhibit
the artwork if a child desires to share with
others
c Emphasize to
the children that their work will not be judged,
graded
or necessarily shown to others
c Allow the use
of various mediums (pastels, crayons, pencils,
markers, etc.)
c It’s
preferable to do the drawing method with more
than one adult present
c Exercise as
little control as possible over the artwork
Concluding Drawing Activities:
c
A key element of
the Drawing Method is the
follow-up discussion.
This
discussion can help to bring
closure to the experience, an
important step
in the process of
expressing feelings
c
Allow those who
want to discuss their drawings
to do so
c
Use open-ended
questions in this process
c
Sometimes a
child’s artwork may be
especially expressive of his/her
feelings; a drawing can give
"clues" to some deeper problems
or feelings
within the child
c
Try to "read"
the picture in the same way you
might read words; what
might it
be
telling you?
c
Look at it as a
piece of communication, not just
fantasy
Keep in mind:
c
Colors, forms,
etc. have different meanings to
children of various
cultural
backgrounds and possibly to
different children within each
culture
c
Regard the
artwork as just a part of what’s
going on with a child;
look at
the child with a holistic view
c
The best source
for what’s going on behind the
drawing is the
child...ask
him/her
