Quiet-time art game for children

My friend Rachel has been playing a simple quiet-time art game with her middle child, Nathan, who is four. I really like the idea and wanted to share it with you (and try it myself). They each sit at opposite ends of the sofa with a piece of paper and a pencil and take turns directing the drawing. For example, Nathan will say,

"Draw a bulldozer," and they'll each draw one on their paper. Then Rachel will say, "Draw a mountain," and they'll each draw that. They don't look at each other's drawings until they've both filled their page and are finished with the drawing session.

Here's a sample of one of Nathan's drawings, above, and one of Rachel's, below, both from the same session.

One of the reasons Rachel started this game with Nathan is that he seemed to lack confidence in his own drawing ability, especially around his big brother. This was both a way for her to connect with Nathan while big brother was at school and also a low-key way to encourage his own drawing.

While Nathan often compared his drawings unfavorably with his brother's, he doesn't seem to have any of the same hang ups about seeing his drawings and his mother's side by side after their drawing sessions.

I'd love to try this with Maia soon. Not that she's comparing her drawings to an older sibling, but simply because I think it would be a fun, quiet-time art game.