The Dot (Creatrilogy)

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The teacher smiles gently and encourages Vashti to just make a mark. In a rage Vashti grabs a felt-tip pen and jabs the paper. Well-received - message suggests disengaging from refusals to move forward on actions in which actor feels they have failed to achieve the goal. In the moment thereafter, just TRY SOMETHING and whatever happens: own it. Act on any subsequent sparks, and be amazed at the freedom those actions allow. . .enjoy the happy surprises. Encourage others, pass on the joy. Are you looking for ways to spark your students’ creativity? Take a look at some of our favourite artistic resources:

The Dot by Peter Reynolds - Read and Create

From there, Vashti started to draw and paint bigger dots, abstract dots, colourful dots using different materials. Her dots evolved. Her skill sharpened. Finally, her works were featured in the art gallery. What is more important: that Vashti is a good artist, or that Vashti is happy and able to make other people happy? Again, the illustrations in this book are simple but fantastic, and they perfectly complement the text. A little boy gazes up at Vashti. He wishes he could draw and be a fantastic artist like her but he can’t even draw a straight line with a ruler. Vashti gives the boy some paper and a pencil and asks the boy to show her one of his lines. She looks carefully at his work and then says… Look at the different-sized pieces of paper that you might use for art. Can you measure the dimensions? Can you work out the areas and perimeters of each?

What a lovely story and such a wise tale to tell a child; trying hard it the most important thing, not whether we are the best t something. A lesson my daughter struggles to learn, so this book could be a good addition to our bookshelf… Vashti doesn't believe she can draw, when her art teacher urges her to just make a dot and sign her name it changes Vashti's entire view of herself and others. Vashti ‘sat glued to her chair’. Was she really glued to it? What kind of literary technique is this? One of two great Peter Reynolds books on art lying around this house. I liked Ish better, but they make the same basic point that you have to be yourself and follow your own path to creativity. Vashti can't draw, hates it, and so at her teacher's urging, she begins with a dot, stops right there, signs it as her teacher suggests, and the teacher frames it. Vashti is suddenly dissatisfied with her dot and so tries different approaches to this, and begins to explore dot-ness. And then there is The Dot Project by a class of first graders and their teacher, Mr. Colosi: http://www.thedotproject.org/ The world is invited into their project as well. Lots of fun!!

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds | Waterstones

Read and Create is a personal blog, featuring children's literature and the play, crafts, outings and food inspired by stories. As of right now, International Dot Day is celebrated in a whopping 192 countries around the world, with more than 19 million people taking part. Why Do People Celebrate International Dot Day? This is a nice story about trying something new. Just because you think you can't do something doesn't mean you're right. Vashti found that out in a fun and colourful way, and managed to pass on the message to someone else who needed to hear it. Hopefully, readers of the book can do the same. Go right to the source: At the beginning of your International Dot Day celebrations, it is a good idea to let your kids know where it all started. You can do this by reading your class the story of “The Dot”. Through this, kids will learn the meaning behind the holiday, and be inspired to get involved with the celebrations. I think at some point many people who love books and children daydream about writing a picture book . . . "It would be so easy. All I need is a cute idea and a good illustrator." I have read well over 1,000 picture books in the last two years, and I read dozens more every week to my son. As we shared books by Mo Willems, Karen Beaumont, Audrey Wood and Don Wood , Holly Hobbie and other amazing creators, I have realized there is much more to writing a children's book than a cute idea. Magic is involved. Magic and cleverness and an understanding of the way children think. It is a rare quality. When I finished reading Dot. to my son I wondered how in the world this book got published (for reasons I will explain in a moment). Then I saw who the author was and understood. Connections. Money talks and names sell books.Most children struggle at some point and feel like they just can’t do something. The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds is a wonderful story that helps to show that with a little perseverance and a change of perspective, amazing things are possible. Smallness of dot book - Drill sheets are unwieldy to handle because of their size. The dot book overcomes this limitation through loss of data: by only focusing on your dot, and the dots that are around it, you can eliminate most of the other dots. In many ways, a dot book is simply a magnification of a small area of a drill sheet. Use the words ‘Just make a mark and see where it takes you,’ as inspiration for your own artwork. What type of mark will you make? Where will it take you? What materials will you use?