Fostering Art

I am not crafty. 

There is not a single crafty bone in my body. That being said, I like to give my pre-schooler, Zach, the opportunity to explore his creativity from time to time. I feel that art, whether you are good at it or not, is so beneficial to the growth and development of a child. While in Teacher's College we were consistently reminded to include art as often as possible in our classroom, as one art project can include lessons in fine motor skills, imagination, patience, colours, shapes, textures, gross motor skills, creativity, etc.

In order to get started on art projects with your wee one, stock up. I took a trip to the Dollar Store in order to add to a fantastic birthday gift of craft supplies my son received. In our art cupboard we have:

• markers
• crayons
• pencil crayons
• paint
• paint brushes

  

  A smattering of our supplies
• glitter paint
• pipe cleaners
• goggly eyes
• fuzzy balls
• foam shapes
• glue
• white paper
• construction paper
• brown craft paper
• tissue paper
• foam sheets
• clothes pins
• brown paper bags (with handles)
• toilet paper rolls
• paper towel rolls
• egg cartons

Organization: Having a fully stocked art cupboard has been the key to allow for easy, impromptu artistic endeavours. I don't often 'plan' our art- when creativity (or boredom!) strikes, I pull out our tools and create a simple craft or drawing that my 3 year old can accomplish with limited assistance from me (as I'm generally running after the 1 year old, ripping crayons out of him mouth).

The best thing I have in terms of organization, though, is these clear, zip-top holders which hold all our art supplies and completed (flat) projects. I grab a bag out of our cupboard and away we go!

What to Make: To date we have made a plethora of 'animal' crafts including caterpillars (using egg cartons), ladybugs, butterflies (tissue paper and clothespins), a ton of finger print animals and other items such as flower bouquets, 'abstract' paintings, and deliciously creative creatures such as this gem:

Zach has named this his' many-eyed, glittery, four legged buggy bug'. 

The key to art with very young children though, in my very humble opinion, is just to let them have fun, explore, get messy and often learn for themself. YES, I would love to post pictures of stunning canvases that my son had filled with spectacular drawings- but chances are that it would be his dad that did most of the drawing/painting, not Zach. His crafts often look messy. His drawings look nothing like what they're supposed to, his paint colours run into each other and create a brown blob...but he's having fun and he's learning. THAT is the key to fostering an artistic spirit in young children.

This was supposed to be a house. It ended up a multitude of colour and fun- just go with it!