When Poppy started in reception back in September the thing she was most anxious about was staying on at school for lunch. I suppose it’s quite a big deal when you’re four. So we thought that if we put something in her lunchbox that made her smile when she opened it the whole ordeal might seem a little more bearable. Someone suggested drawing her a little picture on a post-it note. And so it began.
She was very pleased with the first one (a decidedly rushed Humpty Dumpty) and immediately asked what her drawing for the next day would be. Suddenly it’s six months later and I have drawn about 120.
Yes, it does add slightly to the stress levels of a morning - it’s tricky trying to knock-out a picture in between the Weetabix and the ponytails. If I’m feeling very organised I will do it the night before but that has only happened about three times. The Mr Men are my go-to guys if we’re running particularly late as I can knock one of those fellas out in about two minutes. Unfortunately, Poppy’s decided that I’ve done too many now so I’m on the lookout for another quick solution. Any ideas gratefully received.
Some of the post-its arrive back from school in better condition than others, but we do keep them all. The plan is to frame them and put them up on her wall at some point. It might be something nice for her (and us) to look back on in the years to come. Having said that, she’s not shy about giving me a pretty honest appraisal of the day’s drawing when I get home from work. Apparently my Ewok didn’t look like an Ewok. “It looks like a rubbish teddy bear that’s gone wrong, daddy”. Charming.
Here’s a selection.
Footnote: I feel I must apologise to the people that drew all the original characters. My slightly cock-eyed interpretations of your work must be quite painful to look at. Still, at least Poppy likes them. Well, most of the time…