PS squelching ds's creativity?

[udonandbroth]

So my six year old has been attending public kindergarten for about 2 1/2 months now. It's only half a day but I have been noticing some changes in him that I am not happy with. Before going to school he used to draw or paint pictures for hours- loads of pictures everyday. Now instead of drawing or painting or making something with glue and other materials he draws letters and numbers in his free time.

Has anyone gone through a similar situation? Did it get better or worse... did the creativity come back or start expressing itself in a different way? I need some reassurance... or not... I am just wondering with is going on here.

[Flor]

I don't think that writing numbers or letters for fun is un-creative at all. If it is challenging him and interesting him, what's the difference between practicing the letter "A" and practicing drawing a house? My little guy is facsinated with letters right now and it drawing them on any paper he can get his hands on, in the sand, on the mirror. Soon those will be words, then stories and poems. I'm sure he'll go back to drawing pics, but right now he is in the middle of learning something new.

[Mom4tot]

What if you tried drawing with him...maybe introducing some new art supplies? My dd is very creative and she goes through spurts of not drawing for a few weeks. I know how you feel because it always bothers me a little too.

[jkpmomtoboys]

Originally Posted by Flor

I don't think that writing numbers or letters for fun is un-creative at all. If it is challenging him and interesting him, what's the difference between practicing the letter "A" and practicing drawing a house? My little guy is facsinated with letters right now and it drawing them on any paper he can get his hands on, in the sand, on the mirror. Soon those will be words, then stories and poems. I'm sure he'll go back to drawing pics, but right now he is in the middle of learning something new.

[udonandbroth]

Thanks for the support... that is probably what is going on. Can't wait for those stories

[amnda527]

I think as long as his whole day at ps does NOT consist of letters and numbers, then everything is probably fine. Are the teachers having him do other art activities, free play, music, sand and water table activities? I don't think you should automatically think that just because your ds is only drawing letters, that he is not being creative. He is drawing, and creating, it's just something that is new to him. Once the new-ness of it wears off he will be back to coloring people and trees and whatever else. And maybe he is just tired of coloring because he got his fill of it at ps! If I were you I would think about the whole picture of what goes on while he is at school.

[udonandbroth]

amnda-

The public school program in out area is 1/2 a day and that half a day consists of math, reading, learning to write and some stories. Ds brings home a minimum of 5 worksheets a day, homework and there are no art or music classes. It's a very dry program, (thanks prez. Bush) and dh and I are very unhappy with it.



We have actually both decided to start looking into other programs such as Montessori, Waldorf, etc. I just feel like they are truning my son into this little soldier and it disturbs both me and my husband.
I guess I was just wondering if there are other parents out there who are experiencing a similar thing with their child. I just feel like, geez, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The kindergarten that I attended was nothing like my sons- it was all playtime, art, naptime, recess and a little learning.

Griffin was sick over the weekend so I kept him home on Mon and Tuesday. Yesterday we worked with clay all morning and it was so nice- it was like I had the real Griffin back. Seems like it took him that many days away from school to start to open up and get his creative juices going again... I am just wondering out loud here.

[Quindin]

Originally Posted by udonandbroth

Has anyone gone through a similar situation? Did it get better or worse... did the creativity come back or start expressing itself in a different way? I need some reassurance... or not... I am just wondering with is going on here.

Ate age 3, my daughter used to spend hours drawing all day. She went through so much paper that the floor used to be all covered by evening . As she got older, she began worrying more about quality rather than quantity, but was still drawing a lot.

When school started though, she just did not have enough time to draw so much, and as a consequence, she also felt as if she was running out of ideas! That was until she mastered writing that is: she began writing the greatest stories AND illustrate them! She really loves writing, but drawing is her biggest talent (she wants to be a fashion designer and / comic book artist when she grows up - her drawings look similar to those of many adults already). It did help that her teacher was very supportive of the fact that DD loves to draw everywhere in her books though


I think your son is very excited about this wonderful thing he just discovered andof course he wants to work on that! DD spent hours working on her letter in the beginning too! I don't see it as nevessarily "losing" something, but more like adding to what he already had!

Do make sure to provide him with enough artistics outlets at home since you feel he does not have that in school (or maybe even switch him to Waldorf, if you think that will suit such a creative child better!)

[Flor]

Originally Posted by udonandbroth

amnda-

The public school program in out area is 1/2 a day and that half a day consists of math, reading, learning to write and some stories. Ds brings home a minimum of 5 worksheets a day, homework and there are no art or music classes. It's a very dry program, (thanks prez. Bush) and dh and I are very unhappy with it.



We have actually both decided to start looking into other programs such as Montessori, Waldorf, etc. I just feel like they are truning my son into this little soldier and it disturbs both me and my husband.
I guess I was just wondering if there are other parents out there who are experiencing a similar thing with their child. I just feel like, geez, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The kindergarten that I attended was nothing like my sons- it was all playtime, art, naptime, recess and a little learning.

Griffin was sick over the weekend so I kept him home on Mon and Tuesday. Yesterday we worked with clay all morning and it was so nice- it was like I had the real Griffin back. Seems like it took him that many days away from school to start to open up and get his creative juices going again... I am just wondering out loud here.

We have little ds in Montessori for this reason. I teach public school and I'm not really interested in having ds in an enviroment where testing is so important. I know he will read and write, so I'm not interested in how he will perform on standarized tests. I want him to have fun school days with friends, music, art, etc.

[amnda527]

udoandbroth-
I re-read your first post and noticed that your son is in K. I saw the "PS" and thought...pre-school. Woops! Sorry about my somewhat silly post. But, if you are worried about your son turning into "a little soldier" than maybe you should look into Waldorf or Montessori. I know that I would want to make the changes ASAP, instead of just waiting it out for a couple years, and then regretting not acting on your impulse right away. I wish you the best on whatever you decide.

[Mizelenius]

In the meantime, I recommend Young at Art as a resource.

[udonandbroth]

oh, thanks I will check that book out.

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by udonandbroth

We have actually both decided to start looking into other programs such as Montessori, Waldorf, etc. I just feel like they are truning my son into this little soldier and it disturbs both me and my husband.
I guess I was just wondering if there are other parents out there who are experiencing a similar thing with their child. I just feel like, geez, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The kindergarten that I attended was nothing like my sons- it was all playtime, art, naptime, recess and a little learning.

This is also happening to my son in PS K. When he is given unlimited time to draw, his art is wonderful (for a K kid!) and varied in subject matter. He will paint with water colors for close to an hour at a time -- and it doesn't come out looking like mud, either! I've even been noticing that the coloring he does at school is sloppier and less colorful (fewer choices of colors) than what he'll do at home. I know he's just racing through it because he's starting not to care about his output since he knows that he doesn't have enough time to do it the way he wants to - at least not at school. It's just another reason that we're looking into an alternative school for him.

[Flor]

Originally Posted by LauraLoo

This is also happening to my son in PS K. When he is given unlimited time to draw, his art is wonderful (for a K kid!) and varied in subject matter. He will paint with water colors for close to an hour at a time -- and it doesn't come out looking like mud, either! I've even been noticing that the coloring he does at school is sloppier and less colorful (fewer choices of colors) than what he'll do at home. I know he's just racing through it because he's starting not to care about his output since he knows that he doesn't have enough time to do it the way he wants to - at least not at school. It's just another reason that we're looking into an alternative school for him.

Not to mention probably lower quality art supplies and kids seem to hate to color/be artsy when it is assigned.

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by Flor

kids seem to hate to color/be artsy when it is assigned.

That's very true!

[LauraLoo]

Thinking about the OPs situation and reflecting on my ds' current situation I'm finding that there doesn't seem to be the same level of pride in the work that ds is doing at school. Since he isn't able to work to his level of satisfaction (either because materials are inferior or lacking in variety or due to imposed time constraints or other factors), IMO, he doesn't like his output. He rarely wants to talk to me about the work he brings home and if he does, he doesn't go into detail. How frustrating this has to be for him

[talk de jour]

I don't think he's being "squelched" at all. Seems like he's discovered something new and has decided to try it out for awhile. I think people are entirely too quick to dismiss PS as a "problem."

[Treasuremapper]

I don't know, but my four and a half year old daughter went through a period of total obsession on writing letters over the summer when she was not in school. She did it off and on all day, then, it just dropped off to almost nothing now. Almost like there was an explosion of letters going off in her brain. After the letter writing, she started really reading, not just sight reading. (again, this was her own deal). So maybe this is part of the precursor to reading for some kids?