A couple of weeks ago, via the Weekly Kid’s Co-Op, I came across a wonderful rainbow art project from A Little Learning For Two. I loved the idea so much, that I featured it in THIS post. We go through copious amounts of Watermelon in this house so it was perfect for us and today we finally decided to give it a go. R(3) was very excited about making some “watermelon rainbows” and he happily helped me gather our supplies. This is how we set things out.
I did my best to gather some accurate rainbow colours but I couldn’t find our bottle of red paint anywhere. R however, was insistent that we find it so that we had all the colours of the rainbow. He wouldn’t begin without it. Thankfully it turned up eventually at the bottom of our “craft supply cupboard” (read big cardboard box with everything thrown in it). You’ll also notice a container of black paint in the above photo. Black is R’s favourite colour (A fact he revealed to me during our recent “yes” day.) We’ve never used our black paint before and he was beaming when he opened it and could barely contain himself when he saw it oozing out of the bottle. When he asked for the black paint I actually began to say “But rainbows don’t have black……” but thankfully I caught myself before I could finish the sentence and I set out the colours that he wanted. After all, this was to be his creation. Before we began, we sorted the watermelon rinds into size order. R loved doing this and was extremely quick at sorting them, despite them being very similar in size.
R dove right in and of course printed a row in black to begin. Next, he chose orange. I’m not sure if he deliberately chose orange as it is the second colour in a rainbow or whether it was purely artistic expression.
For the third row, he chose blue. He was so careful about painting the watermelon rinds, making sure it was completely covered and that the paint was coated on thickly enough to leave a good imprint on the paper.
After printing his third row, he declared “Finished!”.
Look at that proud smile! All that time setting up, finding the “right” colours (at R’s insistence no less!) and he was finished after ten minutes of working on it and using only three colours – Black, Orange and Blue. He didn’t finish because he was bored and simply wanted to stop. He had enjoyed every minute of this project. He simply decided that THIS was his rainbow and it was done. I looked at all that unused paint sitting there (he didn’t want to use it for anything else, he had finished creating). I thought about all the cleaning up. I thought about the rainbow pictures that had inspired this project. None of it mattered. It’s all about the process, not the product. R knows the colours of a rainbow very well, even distinguishing indigo and violet rather than simply “purple”. He knows what a rainbow looks like. Yet he made a very deliberate choice about how to make this rainbow truly HIS and he loved it. And you know what? So do I.
A truly wonderful post! Loved reading it and I will read it again and again. You have captured everything that is and should be about a child. You have also quietly noted where we (as the adults) should stand in the process!
Thank you Amie! He was so proud of this painting and I just know he would not have felt that way if I’d “suggested” to him that we paint a true-to-life rainbow or got upset about all the paint that didn’t get used etc. What’s a bit of wasted paint when you see that proud smile?
i love that you allow him to do it his own way. this is a major issue with me. i don’t like “cookie cutter” crafts. this is a great reflection of your parenting/teaching style… and i agree whole-heartedly. welcome to the KBN!
Thank you Andie! The first few times R and I did arts and crafts it was definitely cookie cutter, but after a few sessions where neither one of us was having any fun, I soon understood the concept of process not product and we’ve never looked back. Thanks for welcoming me to the KBM. I’m so excited to be involved.
Sorry, meant KBN, not KBM!!
This is so clever. Thanks for your comment on my site and your request to feature my post about colored cellophane glasses! I would be flattered if you decided to do so. Thanks!
Oh that’s great news! Thank you. The post should be up in the next hou or two.
Thats a great idea for making rainbows. He obviously got the idea of a rainbow having to have all the colours in a row (I’m not sure my son would have managed that, they may have been crossing over each other). I like his little smile in the last picture, he looks very pleased with his product – not just process
Thanks for your comment! All the lines crossing over would have been wonderful too! That’s just it, isn’t it? It’s about making it THEIRS not making it how is “should” be.
I love the use of the melon skin. It’s funny that the activity was finished so quickly. So often I find that crafty activities take a lot longer for me to prepare then they do for my daughter to do.
It’s always the way, isn’t it? 10 (or more!) mins to prepare, 5 minutes to create, then 10 mins more cleaning up!
This is great! New follower now
Thanks for visiting the blog Deborah!
This post is wonderful, and inspired my post for this week’s Kid’s Co-op linky. Thank you for sharing R’s creative process.
Thanks for your kind words Didi! R had so much fun with this activity, and I’m so happy it was able to be a source of inspiration for you. Looking forward to reading your post.
I love it! Artwork made “their” way is so much more precious than when adults intervene. Good for you! I saw this post in the weekly kids co-op. Thanks for linking up.
Scribble Doodle and Draw
Thanks fo your lovely comment an I’m sorry for taking so long to reply. Following the child’s lead is so important. It’s not always easy to stand back but their creativity really blossoms this way.
Pingback: Weekly Kid’s Co-op: Process not Product | Duck Duck Octopus
Love your son’s rainbow
Yesterday, my daughter made a rainbow that included brown and black. I asked her if brown and black were in a rainbow…she answered, “Yes, because I ‘drawed’ them in there!” She’s right!
Love your version of our Watermelon Rainbow Prints, the finished product is just gorgeous, your son looks very proud
Having autism Bubble was very particular about what order her rainbow colours went in and getting it all lined up, Squeak on the other hand had a process much more similar to your sons! 
Thankyou for linking back to our post, look forward to reading more on your lovely Blog.
Hi Carrie! Thanks for visiting and leaving a comment, and thank you so much for sharing your post on this activity. We really enjoyed doing this. I enjoyed reading how Bubble and Squeak each had a different take on it. R surprised me with this one. He is usually VERY particular about things being done the right way – normally everything must usually be in exactly the right place. This was a departure for him!
What a fantastic post! That last picture is so wonderful- I love his grin. What a great message you share here, it really is all about the process. love love love