How To Encourage The Artist In Your Child

Visual arts are a big part of childhood. In preschool, you look forward to seeing your childs current masterpiece at the end of the day. In elementary school, you treasure the handmade gifts you receive for the holidays. By middle school, you are lucky if your child remembers to say good morning, let alone show you a piece of art work. With schools dealing with budget cuts, art programs are being hit the hardest. Here are some ways to encourage your child to nurture their inner artist.

Toddlers/Preschoolers

This age group loves to create and explore. Getting your child involved should be relatively easy. Set-up materials and they will come running. You might be able to get dinner cooked or the dishes washed while they are engaged in their creations. Good options for this are: chunky pencils, crayons, paper,and watercolors. Play-dough not only builds creativity but small muscles (fine-motor skills) needed for writing letters, numbers and their name. Make it together from scratch and now you have a math activity. Child safety scissors and a stack of ads or old magazines will also help improve fine motor skills.

If you are concerned about the mess art makes, take it outside. Set-up paint and other messy projects in the driveway, and hose it all down when your done. While your out there a little sidewalk chalk is always fun.

Elementary Age

By Kindergarten, children begin to go through the "I can't get it right" phase. They draw a picture and crumble it up, draw it again and crumble it up. Offer lots and lots of paper and encouragement. This is a great time to expose them to artists who don't follow the rules. Learn about Jackson Pollack, lay out large pieces of poster paper and let the paint fly. Focus on Matisse, tear colored paper and glue for a unique piece. Look at Picasso's work, then have your child draw two pictures, cut one up and use the second as a background. Glue the pieces of the cut-up one to it. The objective is to get them to move past the idea that art is only good if it "looks like" a particular image in their head.

Look at art books in the library, visit museums (most have a free day once a month), even simple things like a walk or hike to enjoy nature can help your child stay inspired. This is also a good time to consider getting a simple camera for your child to use. They can capture an image they find interesting without relying on their fine motor skills to express themselves.

As they continue through elementary school look into local art centers that offer classes such as pottery or media arts to broaden their artistic horizons. For children that have a competitive edge, entering a local art competition my be the ticket to keeping that passion alive.

Middle and High School

Now they are ready for "real" art supplies. Visit art supply stores and look for sales. Items like professionel pencils and good sketch paper, charcoal, canvas and oil pastels will help take their work to the next level. Look into framing a favorite piece of work and displaying it in your home. Add a sewing or knitting class as way for your child to reflect their own fashion sense.

Family Time

One of the amazing aspects of art is the memories it can create when you share an activity as a family. Make ornaments for a special holiday or gifts for loved ones. The key to art is this, it is the process and not the product. The amount of time your child focuses and enjoys fingerpainting, or the laughs you share working on a collage far outway the final outcome. So, sit down with your child and have fun! Who knows, you may even discover the artist in you.