Let the drawing belong to your child
What I love about making room for Luna in Lovetopus is that a shared moment can begin with a picture. As a dad, I want to leave room for that. Imagine sitting beside her while she makes a shape in the sand: I’d like to be curious without deciding what her drawing means.
Put out paper and something to draw with. “Shall we make a little corner of the ocean?” is enough. It can be a dot, a swirl, a whole reef or something that has nothing to do with the ocean.
Offer company, not a model
My invitation is to make your own picture nearby. Leave your child free to choose their shapes and colors. There is no correct picture of a quiet place, a busy day or a favorite friend.
Luna is an artist who experiences many feelings. Drawing with her does not have to become an activity about sadness every time.
Ask before asking more
Try, “Would you like to tell me about it?” Your child may tell a long story, give it a name or prefer to keep drawing. Each is a possible ending to the invitation.
Avoid assigning a feeling to the picture on your child’s behalf. A blue patch can simply be a blue patch until its creator tells you otherwise.
A small idea for today
Here’s an idea I’d like to offer for your next quiet moment: each draw a place a friend might visit. Put the pictures side by side. If your child wants to, imagine a path between them and who might travel along it.
You can keep the pictures, revisit them or start again. The shared time matters more than making a finished piece.
A Lovetopus story-and-play invitation. These examples are invitations for shared reading, not instructions for assessing a child’s feelings.
