KIDS ART & CRAFT
PLAY, LEARN & CREATE!
Creativity and kids - Helpful tips for parents and guardians
Tips for working with kids
Experts say, encourage all art projects as a process, not product activity. What may be a mess to you, could be a new planet, zoo or the next NASA spacecraft to your child. Allowing our children to explore on their own, not only develops creativity but teaches problem solving, spatial relationships as well as cause and effect. Skills they'll need later for math and other academics.
Refrain from showing examples of a completed project. Especially, that which has been completed by an adult. Provide the supplies and instructions, they'll do the rest. Resist asking "What is it?".. Instead try "Tell me about it". Avoid automatic praise such as "that's beautiful" or "very good". Asking your young artist how they feel about their creation and the experience of making it will build confidence and language arts skills
Source: www.amazingmoms.com
3 Points to ponder
1. Every child is an artist
I don't possess any special training in teaching or child psychology, but I find that a genuine concern for kids and a bit of reading helps. Pablo Picasso once said that "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist when we grow up". Take for example children under the age of five. They are comfortable with painting a person with orange arms and a blue face, or a dog that's the proportionate size of a cow. They don't worry if the grass is yellow and the sky is red. They are expressive and uninhibited.
Experts say that as children grow older, they no longer draw or paint just for fun. By the age of 8 to 10, they begin to concern themselves with achieving realism. They can became increasingly frustrated with art because their aspirations exceed their abilities. How then, as parents and teachers, do we encourage children to be creative and to continue enjoying art? Experts advise that it is important for us, as adults, to firstly understand the different developmental stages in art that children go through, from scribbling, to creating symbols, to imitating life.
~ Art begins with a scribble ~
~ At age five to six, children often introduce a baseline with which to organize their space ~
2. See things through their eyes
It is also unfair to assume that when a child joins an art class, he or she will later be able to win art competitions. It isn't really fair to impose this on our kids, since we wouldn't expect the same achievement of ourselves. In short, inflexibility takes all the fun out of art.
Maya Angelou once remarked that: "We are all creative, but by the time we are three of four years old, someone has knocked the creativity out of us. Some people shut up the kids who start to tell stories. Kids dance in their cribs, but someone will insist they sit still. By the time the creative people are ten or twelve, they want to be like everyone else."
If there's one important lesson that I took away from art school, it's that once in a while, you need to let go. In other words, leave kids to their own devices. As adults, we are preconditioned to judge art as either 'good' or 'bad'. Unless you're a professional art critic, I think it's probably unfair to look at art (especially kids art) in this way.
One must always think positive - point out the imaginative use of colour, ask them about the action in the drawing, show genuine interest in the way a child prefers to draw or paint. When you think about it, isn't the creative process much, much more important than the end product? Our kids may never win prizes at those art competitions, but it's rewarding enough to know that we've given them the space and opportunity to express themselves freely. Something we may have been deprived of in our childhood.
~ Each child develops his/her own set of symbols, which are based on their understanding of what is being drawn rather than on observation ~
3. Respond positively to children's art
One of the most important things to deal with, when it comes to kids and art, is the response that parents, teachers and family members give to children's creations. This is especially crucial when they reach that 'tender' stage of becoming more self-conscious. Most grown ups will respond to a child's artwork by exclaiming in a rather 'fake' voice: "Oh, that's nice...". On occasion, there is the slightly more condescending remark like: "Is that supposed to be a cat?".
Kids are highly intuitive, picking up on the slightest hint of negativity in your voice, body movement and even the look your face. Basically, the message they get when they hear generic things like this is "you're not very good at this" or "I'm not very interested in what you have to show me". After a while, children may feel defeated, spending only a few minutes on the task at hand and giving up half-way out of frustration.
If a child we know does this, we will have to reevaluate our approach. My personal tip is - never talk down to kids. The goal is always to build the child's confidence and reinforce their individual way of thinking and doing things. I'm a big fan of children's literature and as they say in the business "You must write for children, as you write for adults, only better". People who write stories for children know that kids are unique, intelligent and sensitive beings. Always keep this in mind.
Conclusion
While it's important for us to appreciate the sensitive balance involved with kids and art, we shouldn't worry too much. Art is meant to be fun. As an adult, we should keep in mind that the emphasis of any art activity with children is the process and not the end result. As there is no sure-fire 'instruction manual' on how to deal with frustrating moments, we must take the time and effort to personally attend to our children's creative development in any way we can, which means we'll have to be creative ourselves!
~ Most young children are not concerned with producing a realistic picture ~
The Art of Teaching Art to Children
This book by Nancy Beal with Gloria Bley Miller outlines several main principles in encouraging children to do art:
* Art is not about achieving craft-like results; the emphasis should be on the creative process.
* When children are given art materials, the way they to put them to use usually reflects a way that is unique and meaningful to them. Let the children come up with their own direction.
* The way in which you respond is the key to helping your child's artistic development. Remarks like "Oh, that's pretty," or, "I really like that" may discourage children who weren't thinking about pretty or producing something likable.
* Instead of quickly declaring, "Oh, that's beautiful," pay attention to what your child is actually doing, then describe one thing you observe. For example, you might say, "I see you used three red patterned papers for your collage." Or, "I see that all the blue papers are different in their shapes."
* Always place your emphasis on a positive aspect of the work and avoid being critical, such as stating, "Well, this is not such a good part." Focus on what is actually on the paper, not on your own concept of the work, your own agenda. If you start with what you want to see, your child may never meet your requirements and there can be disappointment all around.
* Some parents will talk about what their child hasn't really done yet. Stay away from referring to what is not on the paper, what the child didn't do. Avoid comments such as, "Well, you could put something up there in the upper left-hand corner."
* Some parents are always wishing their children could come up with art that has a better look to it. They wonder how the kids could get somewhere else in their work. Try not to make demands that the children cannot meet. If you suggest that something may be lacking in the work, your child won't be sure of what you want her to do. She may in fact feel she is letting you down.
* Talk to kids about where they are in their work and they may show improvement. This happens when they're feeling good about what they're doing. Children who are feeling good are generally ready to move on.
* If the children want to talk about their work that's fine. But don't ask them to explain it. They really are not able to articulate what they've done. They have no clue as to where a drawing comes from. Neither do we. There is no barometer to measure that kind of creativity. It's the natural genius of being a child. Instead of asking such questions, enjoy the unique brilliance of your child's work, the playful images and visual stories. Ask the children such questions as, "How did you know to do that?" or, "How did you ever think to draw this?". These questions are rhetorical, commenting on the children's ingenuity.
Save examples of the artwork
* It is highly recommend that parents save some of their children's work. This lets the child know that you are responding to his efforts. It sends him and everyone else a message about the value and importance of his work.
* Make copies of some drawings or paintings and send them on to grandparents, other relatives, and close friends. Put the work up for display on the refrigerator, or frame a piece or two. Such endorsements should not be overdone, however. Displaying too much work indiscriminately can make it seem as if nothing has been singled out for importance, that one piece of work is much the same as another.
* Save some of the artwork in a special drawer, chest, box or cupboard. Date the work on the back so that you can observe the child's development in imagery.
Adult participation
* When working alongside children, be in the same spirit of playfulness that most children express. Even if you’re not used to paints, brushes or crayoos, investigate and explore the materials at hand.
* Avoid competitive or controlling situations. It certainly is not a good idea if the parent seems to be saying, "You should do it this way. You have to put the roof on the house like this." Children will think that there is only one way to do something and it is the way the adult has said it is.
* Although advanced nine- or ten-year-olds might begin to take classes in drawing from observation, it is known that most children don't begin to see that way until they reach junior high school age. So I usually suggest that parents put off considering classes on drawing or painting from life for their children until then.
PLAY! LEARN! CREATE!
