Guest Post - Doodling with Doodle Pattern Tiles

 


Do your kids like to doodle? There are lots of doodle pattern tiles available from Activity Village, and this guest post has some great ideas on how to enjoy them.

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Doodling with Doodle Pattern Tiles

By Shelly

My kids doodle. They doodle on scraps of paper, in drawing books, on the fog on the car window, in their maths books. I think they get it from me – the margins of my notes in high school were always filled with zig zags, cross-hatches, and elaborate vines that grew up the margin like it was a trellis. I discovered ages ago some doodle pattern tiles on Activity Village and printed some off to play with. Recently, I was exploring on the Activity Village site (a great way to spend a few minutes... or a few hours!) and found that there were even more than before.

Doodle pattern tiles waiting to be filled in
Doodle pattern tiles waiting to be filled in

There are blank squares for the bold doodler, but a lot of empty space can be intimidating – there was a reason I used to doodle in the margin. So, the lovely creative Activity Village people have created pattern tiles, for the times when you just need a bit of a trellis for your doodles. There are tiles with letters of the alphabet, tiles with creatures, tiles with shapes, tiles for holidays and seasons. But my favourite are the “random” ones, that have abstract lines to break up the square into smaller shapes.

Ideas and inspiration for doodle pattern tiles
Ideas and inspiration for doodle pattern tiles

For those needing more inspiration, there is a handy sheet with some ideas. There are also some “pattern idea” pages, so that timid or indecisive doodlers can try out ideas before committing to a tile.

Trying out some ideas
Trying out some ideas

We got home recently from a weekend away and I could tell that my kids were going to crash if they didn’t get something to do while waiting for dinner. So, I pulled out the tiles, and let them go for it. I even sat down for a few minutes and joined in. I didn’t mean to. I had things to do. But I found that the designs on the tiles are not just helpful, they are alluring. They beckoned me, calling me to come and fill them in. My kids, too, were happily occupied. No crashing occurred – just peaceful doodling.

Some of our finished doodle pattern tiles
Some of our finished doodle pattern tiles

They are seriously lots of fun. And so versatile – my toddler enjoyed them, and my bigger kids. They all did them differently – which is the point. There are no rules with doodling. It’s a very freeing way to be creative.

More finished doodle pattern tiles - enjoyed by a range of ages
More finished doodle pattern tiles - enjoyed by a range of ages

I can think of so many uses for these. I am going to put some on the table when I am reading to them for school – my kids learn better when they can do something while they listen. They fit in the pencil case I keep my fine-liner pens in – perfect for taking out as a screen-free activity if we need to wait for something. And one of my kids gets stressed at times – having some of these prepared and ready would be a great activity to help her focus, relax, and calm down. You could get super creative with them – use them to decorate cards, string them up and make bunting, use them as coasters – the options are as limitless as the different ways you could doodle on them.

Doodle pattern tiles ready for fun on the go!
Doodle pattern tiles ready for fun on the go!

Collage Activities with a Mixed-Age Group

This is a guest post from Rita. Rita is a home educating mother of four girls, aged 11, 9, 7, and 2. She blogs at Chronicles of a Disorganised Homeschooler, where she shares her attempts to at least pretend to be organised enough to manage life, and the fun that she and her family have along the way.

You can find a list of all our guest posts, here.

 

Guest Post - Doodling with Doodle Pattern Tiles
Wednesday, 17th October 2018

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