Kids Corner! Story Time - from guest blogger Megan Harper

Kids Corner! Story Time - from guest blogger Megan Harper

Hello and welcome back! This is a special edition of my blog where it’s all kids corner! Since we got shorted last time (because my little artist was visiting family) this week we drew, painted and put together a storybook. We made her favorite story- Three Little Pigs!

    I drew out the pictures on watercolor paper and let her go crazy with my collection of Smiling Hippo paints. I let her lead the way with the coloring, but I helped with the houses and piggies.



I set out several different brushes for her, two coarse ones and two soft ones, each suited for the different glitter levels. 

As you can see here, I colored in the houses and the pigs, but she quickly took over and wanted me to “go way!”
I handed her my brush and let her pick through the colors, watching her creativity and concentration grow with each moment. Occasionally she wanted me to add some color, but for the most part I was restricted to the first page.

When the little ones are concentrating, let them be. One thing I’ve noticed is even a small thing can break their concentration and they’re off on the next busy toddler task. My little got bored after the last panel, so we took a break. I left all the supplies out and a bit later I discovered her painting on the second page! This was an all day project- super fun to see her working quietly with such determination!!

While she worked on painting the pictures, I took the first page and outlined the images. After she was done painting all the panels, and preoccupied with snacktime, I outlined the rest and cut them along the folded lines. I used a hole punch for the yarn binding and painted the front cover



The Three Little Pigs



    The Big Bad Wolf arriving at the brick house



    This is a wonderful activity to increase your little one’s interest in books. It’s important to start them young and to foster the love of stories. I’m sure my little ones will love this book to pieces and when my youngest is older he will make his own book too!

    I hope you are inspired to create a book with your little artists to jumpstart their love of art and reading! Thanks for reading, and make sure to check out the Smiling Hippo shop, see you next time!

- Meg

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