Art Interpretation

Today, my husband John and our five-year-old son visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website (http://www.metmuseum.org).  They clicked on "collections", and searched using the word "abstract" (no quotes in the search).  Our son looked at the paintings/photographs, and chose his favorite.  Then, my husband asked him to write down what he saw.  He used single words, and made a list (with a little spelling help).  Our son used his words, and created his own piece of art, incorporating what he'd seen.  This activity can be adapted in so many fun ways! 
Best part:  Looking through our son's eyes for a moment!

Here is a link to the photo we used,

And here is the final piece,

 

Field Journal

Here we go, activity #1!  Today, we made a field journal.
All you will need is plain paper and crayons.  My son and I walked around the yard and made observations.  With each observation, he drew a picture and labeled it (I helped with the labels).  We plan to add to the journal throughout the year.  A few staples at the end and "poof", field journal. 
The best part of this activity was sitting in the grass with my son.  Have fun everyone, and let me know how it works out!