The Dot (Creatrilogy)

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Write an article for the school newspaper about the art show. Could you include an interview with Vashti? This is an attractive book. The author hand lettered the text and illustrated the book with watercolor, ink, and tea. Yes, tea! Painting with tea is so clever! I like modern art and I enjoyed the illustrations. Share your creativity: International Dot Day is celebrated all over the world, and you can share your artwork with everyone observing the holiday by posting your pictures with the hashtags #InternationalDotDay and #MakeYourMark on social media. Resources to Support Your Teaching of International Dot Day

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds | Goodreads

That might've been the end of it, except that the teacher frames Vashti's piece and hangs it on the wall. Thinking she can do much better than a simple dot, Vashi gets out her paints and begins to experiment. Eventually, she gains the confidence to help inspire other young artists who think they can't draw. The Dot speaks to the choice teachers have to either crush or inspire their students in creative pursuits. I hope that when I become a teacher (and that day is getting closer and closer!) I always choose to say the right words at the right time, and not let my bad days and sure-to-be-overworked nerves hinder me from encouraging my students to reach their potential, achieve their personal best, and be happy. The teacher’s encouragement of Vashti ripples outwards and has a positive impact on others. Talk about Vashti says that she can’t draw. Has there ever been a time when you thought that you couldn’t do something? How did you overcome it? Vashti experiments with different colours. Can you try to mix colours to make new ones? Make a chart that shows what happens when you mix different groups of colours together.

Vashti believes she cannot draw, but when her teacher gently tells her to “just make a mark,” she jabs at a blank sheet of paper and signs her name. The next week, her art teacher has framed the dot, and the action sets Vashti on a journey of artistic freedom and self-discovery that culminates in the little girl passing on her new-found creative spirit.

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds | Waterstones

Get creative with Twinkl: Here at Twinkl, we have loads of lovely art resources to help your kids engage their creativity. Whether you’re looking for fun activities, informative PowerPoints, challenging worksheets, exciting games, stunning display materials, or something else, we have you covered. Keep reading to find out some of our favourite creative resources. 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. 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… 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? 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?

Crafts and activities for kids

What is more important: that Vashti is a good artist, or that Vashti is happy and able to make other people happy? 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.

The Dot - Teaching Ideas

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? However, if Dot inspires one parent to turn away from their screen and play with their child (and I hope it does for hundreds of people) then it is worth it's weight in gold and jewels. This hand-lettered book, the first in the series "Creatrilogy," is all about encouragement of artistic self-expression. Vashti doesn't believe she has any ability to create. With a small invitation to "just make a mark and see where it takes you" by her teacher, she begins a journey that leads to art that is all her own.The story doesn’t feature the other children in Vashti’s art class, it is about her personal journey, not comparing herself to others but challenging herself to do better. It seems to be human nature to constantly compare ourselves to others, but this often gets in the way of our own personal progression. When you begin to focus on your own individual milestones it can be much easier to get on with moving forward, rather than wasting energy on worrying about what everyone else is doing. Find out how people have created art throughout history. What were the first types of art? What materials were used? How has art changed through the years? REVIEW: I like to see a smart girl that is very smart. And this title is very timely as I see more and more children younger and younger interacting more and more with technology and less with each other. So Dot's whole day is surrounded by computers, and smart phones with tweeting and sharing until her mother sends her outside to Reboot! Recharge! and Restart! (all techie words). And then Dot remembers that she used to like the outdoors and she finds ways to use her techie skills to play in the real world with her friends. Randi has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, the Today show, Bloomberg News, and ABC’s World News. She was also a correspondent for the 2011 Golden Globe Awards and the World Economic Forum in Davos. Randi was recently appointed to the United Nations Global Entrepreneurs Council and the World Economic Forum’s Global Council on Social Media. I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.