Roses in Bloom Creative Café

All three of my children love to do creative projects and activities, so they are usually the ones asking me if we can "do Creative Café." My hope is that someday, their excitement over shared creative expression will translate into a love for the writing workshops that I create for older students.

To prepare for Creative Café, I round up some simple snacks. Sometimes I let my children choose from a menu to make it feel more like a real café. Next, I throw on some coffee shop jazz music and place our Creative Café mugs on the table. Our Creative Café mugs are filled with watercolor paint brushes and colored pencils. Our dining area is set up with a standing drawer organizer filled with various kinds of paper and our watercolor paint for easy access. 

We called our most recent family-style Creative Café workshop "Roses in Bloom." Prior to hosting our shared creative time, we read a few picture books related to roses—Robert the Rose Horse by Joan Heilbroner and The Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie dePaola. These can also be read after the workshop is over to keep the connections coming! 

You can access this mini-workshop which is centered around Renoir's artwork here. It is a fun family-style workshop that will engage students of all ages. This mini-workshop would also be a fun classroom mini-lesson on a day when you have a little extra time or the students need a bit of a brain break!