We’ve all been there. Busy parents desperately trying to entertain our kids. I’ve been a stay at home mom for 2 years and have had my fair share of indoor Pinterest projects, outdoor Yelp recommendations, and a handful of DIY projects thanks to YouTube. All of these were fun activities, but none felt like it could develop into a hobby that would sustain my children’s interests. That’s when I realized it was time to introduce a new activity, one where we could pull inspiration from our surroundings out in the world and not from a mobile device.
Because my two kids enjoy drawing, it was easy to choose art as an area for us to get creative in. Normally my 4 year old son doodles trains, rockets, and cars, while my 2 year old daughter draws faces. Definitely nothing wrong with either, but I wanted to push their imagination further and introduce them to new things. Luckily for us, our neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles has a strong art presence. Everyone knows there are wonderful art museums here, but great art also exists outside the museums throughout our streets. That’s when we started our new Mommy-and-me project, #TadaKidsDiscoverArt, where we take weekly trips exploring, discovering, and appreciating street art one kid drawing at a time.
We were walking for 10 minutes when my son spotted the first mural he wanted to draw with his sister. Apparently he was drawn to this mural because of the bright colors and “funny shapes”. We then found a place to sit and I handed them a couple of clipboards with paper and crayons. There they sat in front of this ginormous mural drawing their interpretations of it for nearly 15 minutes. It was really nice to be outdoors and watching them focus on a beautiful mural painted on the side of a building. Once they were both done, they asked if I could take a picture of them and their drawings so they could show it to Baba later.
It gradually became a routine where we would walk around the streets scouting fun things for them to draw. Impressed with their drawings, I began sharing the photos on social media. Whenever possible, I would tag the artist to give them credit and express our appreciation for their beautiful work in our neighborhood. Surprisingly, some artists actually wrote back saying nice things about the kids’ drawings!
Another artist reached out privately saying he really enjoyed their drawings and asked if he could repost it on his account…
I immediately told the kids that the man behind the large mural painting saw their work and liked it. Needless to say, they were thrilled and wanted to draw even more murals after that.
There was one week where that the kids saw a mural they wanted to draw, but it was barely recognizable because it had been vandalized. I had to explain to them that art isn’t always appreciated by everyone and that “bad people” can sometime ruin a wonderful thing with their inconsiderate graffiti. However, with part of the mural exposed, help from the internet, and Photoshop, we were able to recreate and celebrate the mural that once was.
Other weeks we spend learning and appreciating amazing murals and the street artists behind them.
We also try to have fun and keep things relevant whenever possible. Because it was Chinese New Year recently, #TadaKidsDiscoverArt thought it would be fun to celebrate the year of the rooster with a stunning mural called Mr. Rooster.
Although it’s been a couple of months since we started our Mommy-and-me project, I can already see growth in their drawing skills, an appreciation for street art, and a boost in confidence and sense of personal accomplishment. Can’t believe I was always looking for new things to do on the internet when really there’s so much to explore right outside your home. Best part is it’s completely free and accessible to anyone and everyone!
