At my studio, I had a wall titled “Take What You Need.” I put one word on about 15 post-its. They were words like; Friendship, Love, A Hug, and Strength. My art studio has always been about exploring social-emotional needs alongside of having an artful experience. If you felt like your were in a funk, you may grab the post-it that says “Motivation.” If you were feeling down, you might grab the word “Hug” or “Friendship.” I also put these on my refridgerator at home. They are great reminders to set inentions for the day.
Discovering ways to cope with various emotions can be difficult for kids and adults. After 20 years of working with children in underserved communities and beyond, I have found music instrumental when teaching (no pun intended). After talking with many friends, we all shared how we used music to redirect negative thoughts, help with our moods, and even get through a day of cleaning. The effects are amazing! I decided to do some research on my own to see why music has such an impact on our moods. I wasn’t surprised that music could be an effective coping strategy. I never thought about the idea that we sometimes listen to music that elicits emotions we want to feel in a given moment. Then I thought back to those emotionally draining high school years of crying over friends and relationships and remembered my cassette tape with the saddest songs. I laugh out loud today, just thinking about it. However, I realize how those new emotions that I was experiencing felt validated throught the lyrics of those musicians, and I didn’t feel alone.
Consider marrying the two ideas of music and art and discover how motivating this can be for you and your children. Let’s enhance our mood and get our creative juices flowing. For this post, I choose the word MOTIVATION.
1. Choose your favorite song and come along the ride with me. Let’s get out of that funk and get motivated!
2. Grab some paper. Any size will do.
3. One black marker
4. Colored pencils/markers or crayons
Check out my video for a demo.
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