Hey Families,
Every child is individual, and as child care workers we try to encourage it, but in (nearly) every one of us there's a little Picaso waiting to come out and make its presence known! Or, in child care, our presence is already known, as we're given ample opportunity to express ourselves through art, whether it's painting, drawing, pasting, or even drama. As their parents, we love showing them off! Am I right or am I right? I know, that the exact same thing, just said twice. But it's true; we like to encourage our children's artistic abilities and expand on them. Why like to show them off to our friends. Not in the 'my child is better than yours' way. No, that would be wrong! We want to encourage them in the 'Michael, look at Ava's artwork. She can create masterpieces as well. Maybe you would like to create something with her; just imagine what two little artists can do together!' kind of way. You're encouraging them both, not putting anyone down. Of course, they might not be the next Picaso or Da Vinci, but it's important to encourage them all the same. 'If you really put your mind to it, you can achieve anything!'
Here's an idea on how to encourage your child to be artistic:
I mentioned in a previous post that your child is really proud of what they've done, whether it's right or wrong, and it's always important to encourage something positive, and display their artwork. Like I suggested in the same post, why not create a board to display their artwork, and then a folder in which to store and preserve it? It'll definitely encourage your child to create more, and it'll let them know that you're proud of them, especially if you praise them. When you get home, encourage your child to fetch their artwork from his or her bag and pin it up onto their art board. Upon them completing it, tell them that they've done a wonderful job and that you're so proud of them! Praise their artistic abilities. Their chests will puff out and they'll feel mighty proud of themselves. And so they should!
If they don't want to hang it up, though, ask them why not. If they tell you that they're not proud of their own piece of artwork, accept it, but don't let them feel discouraged. I ask them if they'd like to put it into their artwork folder to keep, but if they say no and want to put it into the bin, let them. They're not going to want to keep it if they don't feel good about it or it's "not their best painting."
If you want to keep it as you think it looks good, tell him that you like it and ask him if you can keep it in his folder or hung up in your bedroom to look at. You always need to ask because it's his artwork; he's the artist. Respect his wishes and whatever he's response is. If he insists on throwing it away, you can always fish it out of the rubbish bin and stash it away, keeping it for later. Of course, this is a sneaky, underhanded thing to do, but he might thank you for it some day.
You might want to assign a corner or entire room to their art, and then you can call it the 'creative corner' or 'creative room.' It doesn't have to be just for painting, drawing or gluing - it can be for puzzles, fixing or constructing machinery like CD players, or anything else that's creative.
Always praise your child on his or her artwork, or his or her efforts, even if they don't feel proud of it straight away. Words of encouragement are important to a child's wellbeing, so is being an active part in the child's life. I don't mean fixing him dinner, giving him baths and tucking him into bed, but also stopping what you're doing to listen and talk to him or her, playing with them and even to praise them on their efforts at whatever they're doing. Taking time out to spend with and focus 100% on them is important.
If you own your own house, or have permission from the landlords, you can paint one wall with blackboard paint and let your child's imagination go crazy doodling away, and best of all, it's on the wall - a designated part of the wall, but still on the wall.
If your child has always wanted his or her own cubby house, you can build one and get your child involved in painting and decorating it. Or just let your child paint and decorate it him/herself while you watch on smiling at his/her joyous smiles and laughter.
Another thing, throw out the colour-in books (or keep them for a long car or plane trip), give them blank paper instead and let their imaginations go wild, watching the crazy, creatives things that they come up with!
Have fun creating!
Tokana
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