DEVELOPING THE YOUNG ARTIST

Why is art an important part of our children’s development?

·      Helps hone fine motor skills – holding a brush, using scissors, glue, pipe-cleaners & beads, tape, the list goes on…

·      Sensory play – ex: finger paint

·      A way to express themselves – important now because language skills and ability to deal with emotions still developing.

o   Share an experience that actually happened

o   Create something that represents a feeling they had – joy or sorrow

·      Helps develop self esteem – “I made that!” and the esteem that comes with feeling unique….also to appreciate others efforts which feels nice too.

·      Often involves some math or language learning

·      Teaches about processes – eg watercoloring involves several steps that need to be done sequentially

·      Often a forum for learning to share, cooperate and problem-solve

·      Wonderful for developing imagination – direction comes from child, free-thinking, experimentation & analysis….kids start to learn about symbols (“this piece of clay is a pirate ship!”)

Differentiating between “creativity” and “talent”

·      At this point, it’s all about the process – not the product

·      The process is very important and it’s not something that parents need to direct. It just happens—like walking. Our job is to provide them with the space (both physical and mental) and the materials.

How do children learn how to “do” art?

·      Children have an inborn preference for balance and regularity

·      Start with Bang Dots, then scribbles, then shapes (circle/triangle/square), then mandalas (huge breakthrough), then faces/people/suns/landscapes/animals

·      Children function best when provided with a consistent approval of the process and all work made, without talking about what parents like “the best”

Practical tips for Parents  - help support your child’s artistic development:

 ·      Remember to value all art—even if it is not a picture of something real or that can be named. Often times, non-representationl art (meaning—something that isn’t a picture of a house or something we can name) is very important to the artist. It’s a dangerous game to try to value our kids’ art. Age 5 can be a time of crisis for children’s art because random scribbles often aren’t valued by kindergarten teachers.

·      Try not to ask your kids to make pictures for you…we want them to do it for themselves.

·      Resist the urge to correct their drawings (people have 2 eyes not 3!). Children’s art is not meant to copy the real world.

·      Don’t single out certain pieces to put on the fridge, etc. Ask your child if there are any they’d like to display.

·      Let them make a mess!

·      Resist the urge to draw something for them…it may result in them feeling like they can’t draw something because they feel it won’t look like yours. 

·      Instead of asking “What is that?” about a drawing (it might just be a free expression or experimenting with materials or they might not have the words yet—how does a 3 year old say “I painted how it felt when no one was playing with me”). Also, it must feel very disappointing that Daddy can’t tell that it’s a picture of your dog and an elephant on the moon. Instead, you could say something like “I see you made a painting. Would you like to tell me about it?” 

But use sparingly and don’t push it. It’s ok if they don’t want to tell you about it.

·      Better yet, if they show you a picture, just smile and say nothing at first. This serves 2 purposes: 1. It gives you time to study the art, and think of a better response than “That’s nice.” 2. It gives the child a chance to speak first if they feel like it.

·      You could say things like:

o    “I can tell you really enjoyed using so many different colored crayons!” 

o   “Thanks for sharing your work with me.”

o   “You worked very hard at painting today.”

·      Don’t freak if your child isn’t bringing home products when they start preschool; they could be engaging in other activities that are forms of art that you can’t take home—beading, sidewalk chalk, imaginary play, etc.

·      So what do you do with all the art? Consider keeping an art box, where you can just put all their art. It’s awesome to see how it develops over time!

·      UNADULTERATED!

Includes some research done by Rhoda Kellog, Robert Schirrmacher and Slyvia Henry