I Draw What I Played

After play, children sit down calmly and draw what they played, with whom and with which materials, then each one tells the teacher about their drawing. It shifts from the joy of doing to the joy of representing, putting some distance and words to the experience.

How to play

1. We sit on the floor, take three breaths and close our eyes to remember what we played (1 min).
2. The teacher hands out paper and crayons and asks, “What did you like best today?” (1 min).
3. Everyone draws their game: the tower, the hideout, the fabric, the jump or anything they like (3 min).
4. The teacher goes around and each child tells about their drawing; the teacher writes a sentence next to it in the child's words (2 min).
5. We put the drawing in the class movement folder and the crayons back in their box (1 min).

Rules

• We draw quietly or whisper.
• Every drawing is different and they're all good.
• When we finish, crayons go back in the box.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: the child draws at an adapted table or with chunky-grip crayons.
• Autism: offer picture cards of the materials to choose and glue if drawing feels stuck.
• Visual impairment: draw on raised-line paper (mesh or sandpaper underneath) or model with play dough instead.

Learning goals

• Represent on paper what was experienced through the body.
• Put words to the feelings from play.
• Lower arousal and return to calm.

Equipment for a class of 25

• Paper sheets: 25
• Chunky crayons: 25

Teacher tip

Don't correct or interpret the drawing: ask “What did you draw?”, never “Is that a tower?” File drawings by date; they show each child's progress beautifully.

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