Creating Art Projects With Your Child

Providing sensory experiences for your child is positive for his development.  Creating and experimenting with art allows your child to use his senses and build his brain.  Playing with play dough, painting, drawing, and making collages all spark connections in the brain.  Having these experiences will help your child be more successful in school.  Christmas time gives us many opportunities to invent creative art project ideas which tie brain development together with the season.

You can help your child get the largest benefit from creating and experimenting with art by:

·        Encouraging him to enjoy the process of creating art.  The most important part of the creative process is that the child should interpret what the project should look like.  Your child will be more apt to explore his creative desires if we accept his finished project without any criticism.

·        Providing materials.  It’s great if your child has access to crayons, paints and paper.  Household items such as fabric scraps and catalogs are also fun to use when creating art projects.

·        Say something specific about your child’s artwork.  “You used a lot of yellow and blue in your picture.”  Your comment could also sound like, “It’s great how you incorporated Santa’s reindeer into your picture,” or “The sculpture of the penguin has a nice long beak and big feet.”

·        Hanging his creation on your refrigerator, setting a sculpture out on a shelf or giving the results of an art project to a favorite relative will make your child feel appreciated.  By displaying the artistic creation your child will feel a sense of accomplishment and pride.

By encouraging your child to be creative he will benefit by increased brain activity and a higher level of self-esteem.  Your attention to a project which he is proud of will help to spark his sense of ownership and will encourage him to experiment with his creative side to a greater degree.  Have fun creating with your child!  If you have questions about this article or about Columbia School District, please call me at 517-592-6641 or email me at Pamela.campbell@myeagles.org.