these snowy days

It's mid-February, and winter feels long and slow and very, very snowy. We've been spending a lot of time indoors. Our days at home are filled with book-reading, dish-washing (there's a non-stop flow of them!), playing with Legos, doing a bit of math and music, building forts, watching videos, and doing lots and lots of art. I thought I'd chronicle a little of the art that's been happening around the house...it's probably one of my favorite things about being at home these days...

With some trepidation, I covered the table with plastic table cloth and braved some painting on our dining table. No big disasters, and a pretty quiet playdate.

I've been leaving markers, crayons, and paper out, so the boys can use them as they feel inspired. There has been LOTS of drawing around here in the last month.  The 4 year old has been drawing lots of birds, fishes, suns and divers...and after some tears, successfully drew a cat that he found acceptable. The 2 year old, following his brother's example, has been drawing "people" and "whales". After years of seeing blobs and scratches, I gotta say it's been fun seeing things take shape under their pens, and love seeing them deep in concentration.

Yesterday, we tried to do some sticks and clay construction. It was a nice change of pace, as it was much more tactile and 3-D. It was also a lot more hands-on (by me), since the sticks tend to fall down, and the boys don't have a good sense of what will stay up or not. :) But they had fun building gates, houses, and boats. Not exactly sure what I do with the finished products though...

They've been asking to put some of their drawings/paintings up on the walls - the ones they are especially proud of. I have been (mostly) obliging...and finally got frames for some of them. It does brighten up the house during these long wintry months!