Kids Create Homemade Comic Books
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Writing prompt idea for kids: make comic books with a parent!
by Shauna MacKenzie, blogger at Kindergarten Confidential and mother.
I’m always trying to think of creative ways to spend time with my boys. My oldest son Aidan has an incredibly creative mind. He’s my little Robert Munsch, having the ability to tell fascinating stories filled with interesting characters and storylines. He’s been a story-teller since his first spoken word.
From ages 2 to 3, when Aidan loved The Wiggles more than anything else, I would draw a road on a piece of white paper, and draw a Big Red Car. Aidan’s job would be to draw the four Wiggles in the car, their friends (Dorothy, etc) on the grass, and add trees, flowers, bugs and birds to the landscape. We would then talk about colours, sing Wiggles songs, and he would spend hours driving his Hot Wheels cars along the road. Creating an interactive storyboard was so much fun!
At age 3, Aidan was introduced to Super Mario Bros, as well as comic books. He would watch his older friends play DS, and during free play time he would pretend to be Mario stomping on Goombas. During one rainy day, I was trying to think of a fun craft to keep Aidan entertained. He’d had enough of Playdoh, Lego and stickers. I sat down with him and started drawing black comic squares on a piece of white paper. Together, we drew Mario characters in each of the squares, creating a story. We drew comic ‘bubbles’ and I wrote action words for him. This quickly became a regular activity for us.
Today, Aidan draws his own squares, pictures and bubbles. He even writes his own action words. He creates original Star Wars or Mario battles, and sometimes creates adventures with his little brother Josh. His most recent comic featured his favourite ‘cottage’ things. These homemade stories are a permanent part of our lives, and I look forward to watching them evolve as Aidan grows. I also look forward to helping Josh join in the fun, watching his first drawings create a story of his own.
Children have infinite imaginations. Use their interests to your advantage, encouraging imaginative play. A simple homemade comic has helped to improve Aidan’s drawing, writing, and story-telling skills. Try creating comics with your child. You’ll be amazed at how creative your little story-teller is!
Bio: Shauna is a wife and working mother of two busy boys, Aidan who is 5 and Josh who is 18 months. She’s written a few unpublished children’s stories for her sons, which has been a lot of fun! She’s now ready to share her thoughts with the blogging world.
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such a great guest post – and what a coincidence! i just blogged about this a few weeks ago when i tried it with my 4-year-old daughter, and wow it has saved us a lot of paper since she began drawing her stories this way! she’s never been exposed to comics, but seemed to know just what to do when i prsented her with paper with boxes on it. check ours out here: http://paintcutpaste.com/comic-strips/
I think that’s how I originally found your blog – a link to that post! I loved it – it was such a crazy coincidence that my guest blogger submitted something so similar! – Melissa
My son loves to tell stories. He would love this. Thanks for the inspiration!
Those are so cute! I might have to try it with my girls today!!!