Drawing Conclusions

This post is by Megan Fischer, Marketing & Public Relations Manager.

Lately I’ve seen a barrage of commercials for the new Wii drawing tablet and am astounded. The concept: kids use a stylus to “draw” on a tablet connected to their television and the images they create appear on the screen. It comes with a game of Pictionary the family can play together.

Really?!? Why?

What about drawing with REAL paper and pencils, crayons or markers?

What happened to families sitting around a table playing board games together?

What about the fact that our kids are already oversaturated with screen time? (According to the Alliance for Childhood, children in the U.S. between the ages of 8 and 18 now spend over 7 hours per day in front of screens with very little time spent outdoors.)

I’ve written before about the importance of kids having authentic experiences with real things, and that certainly applies here. It’s not just about the motor skills and hand-eye coordination children develop when they move pen over paper, learning how to hold and manipulate tools. And it’s not just about the acquisition of artistic skills.
I believe there’s also something incredibly important about the physical process of creation and of having authentic creative experiences. Approaching a blank page with nothing to structure the experience besides one’s imagination. The feeling of markers on paper, paint on fingers. The smell of crayons and freshly sharpened pencils. The sense of accomplishment in seeing something you’ve created, that flowed from your hands to your canvas. Doodling, dipping into paint, digging into clay, building with blocks, maybe even making messes…all in the act of creating.
For all of us, drawing and other forms of creative expression can provide a way to perceive and think about the world around us and communicate our ideas – especially important for kids. Plus the process of creation requires active engagement and can inspire imagination as well as concentration and persistence.

I know there are arguments about the need for children to acquire skills applicable to new technologies, about technical or digital literacy. But as I see it, many kids today are practically saturated with electronics and have plenty of opportunities to develop these proficiencies. The digital divide is no longer an issue. Instead, helping kids manage the onslaught of technology and digital media is a growing concern.
I’m reminded of a recent screening of "Library of the Early Mind," a wonderful documentary in which 40 renowned children’s book authors and illustrators reflect on their childhood memories and inspiration. Many of them speak about creating their own worlds as children and about the powerful impact of their early creative experiences on their work and process. It’s interesting to think about what might have been if they weren’t allowed opportunities to create, explore and discover as children. (Also consider what the children’s literature landscape would look like if given over to the electronic book. Imagine story time with a screen, not giving a child the physical experience of turning the pages, of engaging with the story and the artwork.)
Our world is changing rapidly. Being immersed in digital communications for the Museum, I’m faced with that everyday. I’m not arguing that we should turn our backs on technology – there’s a time and place for it, and it’s certainly not going away. And there are many great examples of ways kids and families are using technology in creative, even physical ways – to go geocaching or design their own games.

But we need to think carefully about what we’re at risk of losing and stand up for what’s important. To make sure our children have opportunities for active, authentic creative experiences and not give everything meaningful over to screens and electronics.

Maybe there’s something I’m missing and, if so, please comment. But I’d really like to hear YOUR thoughts about navigating the incredible changes we’re faced with and what we – and our kids – might be losing in the process.

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This article was subsequently posted on Kidoinfo.com and there were A LOT of interesting comments. Check out the conversation here.

Get Real!

This article was originally posted on Kidoinfo.

Get Real!
By Megan Fischer, Providence Children’s Museum

Not long ago, I heard a story on the radio about kids spending their time playing Wii soccer. And I thought, what about real soccer? Outdoors, with real balls? And real kids? And then I thought about kids playing Guitar Hero instead of real instruments. And the fact that, according to the Alliance for Childhood, the average elementary-age child in the United States spends four to six hours per day in front of screens, in the form of television, computers, video games and other virtual realities – and less than half an hour outdoors.

Which led me to a moment from the PBS documentary Where Do the Children Play? in which Last Child in the Woods author Richard Louv explains that many children today “see nature as an abstraction” and that they’ve grown accustomed to “life wrapped in plastic” – removed from what’s real. He gives an example of kids seeing meat packaged in cellophane and styrofoam but not understanding that it has a real source, that it originates from somewhere other than supermarket shelves.

There are many concerns about screen-time impacting kids’ physical activity and opportunities for social development. But I also wonder about the implications of the distance from authenticity. What are they losing by not having real, tangible, even messy experiences?

As a kid, I loved climbing my favorite tree – stretching, reaching, pulling myself up, feeling the scratchiness of the bark against my skin and the patchy light filtering through the leaves to warm my face. My sister and I took off on adventures around our neighborhood, digging holes, building forts, picking flowers – things that were important to us because they were real, and because we were connecting with the world around us in the process.

Digging in, getting physical, getting messy – it’s important for all of us, kids and adults alike, to have real, hands-on experiences that connect us to our surroundings, both indoors and outdoors, in a deeper, more meaningful way. Not to mention the developmental benefits to kids of physically navigating their world – building motor skills, coordination, problem solving, and a sense of space and relationships.

Places like museums and nature centers, parks and zoos are valuable spaces for real, authentic experiences. One of our favorite stories at the Children’s Museum is of a 6-year-old girl actively playing in Water Ways, pumping hard to raise the water to spill over the top of a fountain, and then looking up in wonder: “I didn’t know water was heavy!” This type of real-world, hands-on tinkering in childhood fosters curiosity, helps kids make connections, and leads to adults who are more creative, more innovative and better problem-solvers. What a loss for our society if we don’t make space for exploring what’s real.

Let’s all make room for a reality check. This fall, get your kids outside, go for a hike or nature walk and examine leaves, turn over stones, and splash in streams. Take your family apple picking to encourage a deeper connection to one of our food sources – and have your kids join you in the kitchen to discover the fun of making real apple pie. Turn off the TV and video games and take in a live musical performance – let the joy and wonder of real people playing real instruments wash over you. Simple things like this can help all of us develop or rediscover a sense of wonder and appreciation for our world. For real!