It is time to shift gears - Thanksgiving is over - on to Halloween! Halloween has become a major event. I don't just mean in our house, I mean everywhere! You can't go into any store without finding shelves filled with skeletons, costumes, makeup and giant spiders. We switch pretty quickly from Thanksgiving into full-on Halloween mode.
Halloween means deciding on what to dress up as. My girls have never been too keen on dressing up as scary and spooky characters...thankfully. In fact, the "scary" aspects of Halloween really scare my eldest daughter. We avoid all homes with graveyards on their front lawn...for sure! So, instead of going scary my girls look to other areas for inspiration. Two years ago they were Miss Piggy and Kermit (my personal favourite) and last year my youngest daughter was Wendy Darling from Peter Pan and my eldest daughter was Collette from the Thea Sisters' series of books. What are the thoughts for this year???
Well, it looks like we are going to have an Alice in Wonderland and a detective. In years past I have asked for the girls input into what they think their costumes should look like and then I run with their ideas. This year, I want to involve them in every step. So, where to start.
My youngest daughter wants to be a detective (my mother would be so proud)...what does a detective look like to a 5 year old? I asked her to draw a picture of what she thinks a detective looks like...what are the critical details that we CANNOT miss. Here's what she came up with
Detective complete with trench coat, hat and magnify glass.
My eldest daughter wants to be Alice in Wonderland...or is it Alice from Alice in Wonderland? I had her draw an 8 year old's interpretation of Alice and here's what she drew.
Dress, apron, long hair.
The next step...educate and further inspire. We gathered up our greatest inspiration sources - books. We pulled all of our detective books and Alice in Wonderland books off the shelves.
Present day detectives Gernoimo and the new Nancy Drew to classic Trixie Belden.
Our gorgeous Complete Works of Lewis Carroll and our colourful Alice in Wonderland (with my sisters name and address written inside from when she brought the book to school back in the 70's).
Here is some of the artwork that helped shape the girls ideas of what a detective and Alice might look like...
Using these books for reference, the girls were able to add colour and further details to their costume ideas. Pretty amazing.
Whether your child wants to be a superhero or a vampire, discussing the costume with your child can open up a whole world of learning. Grab a book or go online and see what interesting facts you can discover, with your child. Not only does you child understand the character they will be "playing" you get to spend some time together reading and creating. As for us, our next stop is the fabric store...more to come!
KitchenCounterChronicles says
Thanks Vicky...we do love Halloween! Thanks for stopping by and following along.
Brooke @ Let Kids Create says
What a great idea! I wish we had
Thanksgiving before Halloween in the U.S. My 5 year old just informed me she wants to be E.T. for Halloween - this came out of no where. She had never seen the movie or anything. Now she is suddenly E.T. crazed.
Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness!
Laura @Art For Little Hands says
I am a ba humbug about halloween. I think making costumes just scares me. Lucky for me my mother in law came in town last week and is making the costumes for my kids and I am seeing how simple it really can be.
Emma @sciencesparks says
What a great post, I love the drawings, especially the detective!
Thank you so much for linking up to Fun Sparks. xx