Written for adults sharing creative time with children aged roughly 7–9. Timings are flexible. These first-edition activities have not yet been trialled with families or reviewed by an educator.
01 / IMAGINE · ABOUT 15 MINUTES
A town for a tiny visitor
Gather: one sheet of paper and a pencil. Optional: colouring pencils.
Choose a rule (2 min). Imagine a tiny visitor needs somewhere to stay. Does everyone travel by slide, or do all doors open into gardens? Your child can invent a different rule.
Make three places (6 min). Draw somewhere to rest, somewhere to meet and somewhere the visitor might get lost. Shapes and scribbles count; labels are optional.
Take a pretend walk (4 min). Trace a route with a finger. Ask: “Where would our visitor pause? What might be tricky?”
Change one thing (3 min). Add something to help the visitor. Invite your child to tell the story of the change.
If stuck: offer “a town in a teacup or a town in a tree?” An adult can draw the first shape.
Try another day: give the visitor a different way of moving. What would change? There is no correct town.
02 / TRANSFORM · ABOUT 15 MINUTES
The fold that changes things
Gather: one sheet of paper and a pencil.
Make a flap (2 min). Fold the lower third of the sheet upwards. Keep it folded while you begin drawing.
Draw the ordinary (4 min). Draw a closed box or a small doorway across the flap’s upper edge. Keep marks light so they do not press through.
Reveal the unexpected (5 min). Open the flap. Use the hidden space to draw what is inside: a garden, a machine, a room of clouds, or your own idea.
Give it a moment (4 min). Close and open it together. Ask “What happens just after this?” Add one detail or tell the next part aloud.
If stuck: skip the fold and draw “outside” and “inside” side by side. Folding is optional, not a skill test.
Try another day: make the outside look completely different while keeping the same inside.
03 / INVENT · ABOUT 15 MINUTES
A route with a twist
Gather: one sheet of paper and a pencil. Use a fingertip as the traveller.
Set a destination (2 min). Draw a start and a finish with space between them. Decide what the traveller is trying to reach.
Invent the route (5 min). Draw a path with three places along the way: a pause, a surprise and a choice.
Try it (4 min). Trace the path slowly with a finger. Describe what happens at each place. If a line is unclear, decide together what it could mean.
Change the brief (4 min). The traveller now wants a quieter journey. Add or redraw one part. Compare the two versions without choosing a winner.
If stuck: draw two large dots and one curve. Your child can decide what those marks mean.
Try another day: invent a route for a traveller who can only turn left. This is an imaginative drawing prompt, not an engineering test.
Keep the idea, not a score.
Ask “What would you keep next time?” Your child can answer aloud. No photographs or uploads are needed.