Stretch & Explore

When students Stretch and Explore, they discover new interests, test ideas, and become comfortable with making (and learning from) their mistakes. For this SHoM, Wolfston's class tried their hands at blind contour drawing, a creative exercise in which the artist draws the contour of their subject—in this case, a hand or a peer—without looking at his or her paper.

The activity not only taught the class the value of hand-eye coordination, but also put them at ease. "[The activity] starts breaking down the judgment of 'I can't draw,' says Wolfston. "It gets kids to actually stretch into that arena of just enjoying the experience of drawing instead of being obsessed with the judgment of what a drawing looks like."