Last Friday, we asked kids to respond to this prompt:
You’re walking along on the surface of Mars when suddenly, something jumps out from behind a crater. What is it?
Claire from Maryland sent this drawing of a Martian praying mantis. I’m glad that I was not on Mars with Claire that day.
Her brother Teo sent this painting of a Crater Snake.
Callie from Kansas sent this iPad-rendered image of a Martian sheep (created, according to her mom, on a car ride between Wichita and Kansas City).
To me, this looks exactly like a photograph that might have been sent back to earth from the Curiosity rover. Perhaps the long-awaited proof of life on Mars?
Iris from Maryland submitted this drawing of a monster with the following explanation: “The pink-ish purple-ish line on the monster’s cheek is mom and dad running up the stairs (stairs are the green) to get the monster out of Iris’ room and to protect her so that the monster doesn’t eat her (the red and blue is Iris’s bed).
Spencer from California was so inspired by the idea of Mars that he sent two drawings. This one:
I love what appears to be a weeping planet in the upper left.
And this one:
I really wish that Spencer had sent along a story. There’s so much happening, and I want to know more about it.
Spencer’s brother Tyler sent this drawing. I love his color choices.
Joe from Pennsylvania sent this. Lucky for him, the only thing that jumped out from behind the crater was another astronaut.
Emily from Oklahoma sent in this drawing of “A monster coming out of a hole on a big planet really close to Mars, but really, really, really far from here.” According to Emily’s mom, “The drawing was preceded by a rather lengthy discussion about Mars (thank goodness we saw that planets movie at the planetarium this summer!) and what a crater was (hence the “hole” in her drawing description). Ultimately, I think she spent longer crafting the title of the piece that she did actually drawing it, but in the spirit of good parenting (and lack of a foot to stand on when it comes to art critique), I resisted telling her she should add more to it.”
And here is Alden’s “Alien.”
Such a friendly looking fellow.
And finally, this moody piece from Ethel in Brooklyn, who, upon presented with the prompt, apparently uttered the following, “I will imagine Mars as a paradise, a place where my dreams can become reality.”
So philosophical at so young an age. It’s truly inspiring.
Thanks to all you kids who shared your art. And to those of you whose parents are still trying to figure out how to use the digital camera and the scanner. Try to be patient with them. It’s really hard to be grown up.
We’ll be posting another prompt on Friday. Until then, remember to put your socks on first, shoes second.