[Nfb-krafters-korner] Hello everybody!

[joseli Walter]

A piece of felt on a clipboard makes a grate tactile drawing surface. Use a
pen and draw the picture, taking note that the tactile lines will show up
reversed on the other side of the paper.
 

-----Original Message-----
From: nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Dick Carlson
Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2011 2:43 AM
To: 'List for blind crafters and artists'
Subject: Re: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Hello everybody!

Well, how about a bit of a longer report now that I have some time.

First of all, as I said, Willy just turned seven years old, and it's been a
busy three months for him.  I've been able to spend some time with him as
he's stayed some with me while on vacation or when school's been out.  His
mom also travels for work, so this has worked out well.

First things first.  Willy has begun to not be so leery about exploring or
trying new things.  This winter, we've had more snow, and I taught him what
snow was and he actually played in the snow.  I taught him about making a
snowball.  I actually had a bit more fun than was necessary, as I kind of
guided Willy's hand to throw the ball right as his mom was coming our way,
and like a true champ, he hit her.  She was not happy, because I did the
same thing.

He was interested in how wet the snow was, but he didn't seem to mind.  One
thing we're working on these days again is not worrying so much about
getting his hands dirty and into things.  If you recall, last summer, when I
first came on, Willy would not get his hands dirty or into many things.
We're working on that now.

Someone also talked about doing crafts with nature.  Well, it's not a craft,
but I do have different plants and flowers in the garden, so I had him
outside with me and we smelled and touched plants and flowers.  He liked
some of those smells and now that spring is here, it's great!  In fact, I
taught Willy how to plant some seeds, and he's begun seeing them grow.  I
chose beans because they grow fast and can be planted anywhere.

Willy had an interesting experience at school which I think sparked his
interest in trying things.  He found that some of what the kids did were
somewhat visual.  For instance, they were coloring some pictures, which he
couldn't do.  Also, the teacher had them drawing pictures as well.  Again,
he couldn't really do that.  It wasn't the same to tell the teacher what
kind of picture he wanted to draw.  It also wasn't the same to just give him
a piece of blank paper and a crayon and just tell him to scribble or color.

Willy came to me and asked two things.  He knows that I like to draw and he
wanted to know if there was any way that he could color one of my pictures.
It was so darn cute.  So, I've got to find a way to see how he could do
that.  I want him to be able to feel the picture and maybe just color inside
the lines.  I don't know.

Finally, he has taken the initiative to ask if we could do a project he did
before but in his words "better!"  He wants to make another collage, and I'm
all for that.  However, I know that I want things to go differently than
before.  For instance, I want to use some kind of thick cardboard to put the
stuff on so that it's easier to handle.  Also, I told Willy that if we were
going to do another "picture" as he calls it, then he was going to have to
do a lot more of the work, and that's where I'm going to want your help and
encouragement.  If you remember, when Willy did his first collage, Uncle
Dick did all of the major work, and a lot of what Willy did was to hand me
the material and tell me where he wanted them put.  Once we found out that
using a glue stick didn't work for Willy, I ended up doing most of the
gluing until the very end when I finally asked you for some ideas.  This
time, I want Willy to take charge and do most of the work.  In fact, I think
it would be fun for both of us to do the work together but I might decide to
do it also under blindfold so that we're both not using our eyes.  I also
want Willy to feel and know that he's doing a lot of the work.  And, I don't
think it will be a good idea to use glue sticks.  It's been at least since
November since we completed his other one, and he was proud of it, but now
even he said that he would do more.
What do you think of trying it this new way?  We will definitely use nature
things along with other things like before but he will also have a lot more
input.  It will also give him a chance to use his hands a lot more to feel
around and really look at what he's doing and how it's coming.  He and I
will also just have to learn to paste things on and use and spread glue.
I'm so used to doing it visually but I'm willing to try other ways.  Also,
maybe if I lead by example, he'll just think it's normal to do things this
way.  

Anyway ladies, remember that us guys can also have fun doing these projects!
Good or kids doing this stuff!

Dick

We actually want to get going on this during the weekend.  


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