Friday Finds: Toddler Art Materials

Wednesday I shared our first official art project that we did with Sage.  I also talked about the dilemma of finding appropriate art materials and projects to use with babies.  I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite baby and toddler art materials and tools in Friday Finds.  So here we go.

 

Crayons are a great art tool to use with toddlers, start at around 18 months.  Using crayons to scribble with introduces them to art and improves hand coordination.  To start with try the large, fatter crayons they will be easy for their little hands to grip and hold on to.

I love crayola kids' paint, it is washable and non toxic.  Try a few painting projects with your baby/toddler it will be messy but allow them to explore the materials.  Finger painting is a good project to start with and as they grow you can move onto using paint brushes.

Look for children's paint brushes like those pictured above, with a wide handle to make it easier to hold on to and control. And wide paint bristles to paint with.  A tip for painting with young children tape the paper to the surface you're working on to prevent it from sliding all over, and use a thicker paper like watercolor paper so they don't go right through the paper and make holes.

I haven't used these, no spill paint cups, but I've seen them around and they look like a great idea for young children.  The whole in the top is just big enough to get the paint brush through and this type looks like you could put the lid on to save the paint from drying up.  

DIY paint holder I found this on pinterest and marked it to try with Cy sometime.

Chalk is another great everyday art material for toddlers to use.  The size of this type of chalk is perfect for those little hands and the colors will really show up on blacktop.  Or try an indoor project using a large piece of black poster board of them to color on.  Get even craftier and make a chalkboard wall in your house for endless chalk fun.  DIY chalk recipe.

And last but not least some of my favorite project ideas are from using found objects as art tools.  This is perfect for young children it teaches them how art can be fun, incorporates play and allows them to express themselves.  Last month I posted an everyday objects as art tools and featured the balloon painting, credit card painting and pedulum were both featured on The Crafty Crow blog.

Friday Finds: Creative Art Article

I came across this great article from earlychildhoodnew.com and it had me at hello.

 Creative Art Activities Promote Development 

 The article starts off with an example of a young boy who drew a picture for his mother.  His excitement to show his mother his picture of buttercups was met by "what is it?" and a critique of what color he used.    

Reading the example you can feel the disappointment of the little boy.  But how many times do we often critique our own children's art work?  I know I've used the "what is it?" question.

The article explains the importance of the process of art work over the final product for young children.  A beautiful painting is not the goal for a child but rather to express, explore, experiment and be creative.

A great alternative to the "what is it question?" might be "can you tell me about your art work?".  This will not only show your child you are interested and place value in their artwork, it will also let you connect with them in a dialogue about their work.

The article goes on to discuss art promoting creativity, self- confidence, and how art teaches task analysis.  It outlines the stages of art development from 2-6 years old: 

• Ages 2 -3--scribbling. All children, regardless of their culture, make the same markings, in the same way at approximately the same age. 
•    Ages 2-4--scribbles take shape and look like circles, ovals, squares, triangles and crosses. 
• Ages 3-5--children begin to make designs from the shapes they have been drawing. 
• Ages 4-5--designs take on the form of people 
• Age 5-6--children are at the pictorial stage

I found it interesting regardless of their culture children make the same markings, in the same way at the approx. the same age.  Talk about a universal language! 

 The creative art, article, ends with saying creative art isn't for a specific time it should be a part of your child's everyday.  They included art materials list, art activity ideas and even recipes for play dough.  

So what's stopping you connect with your child and  EXPLORE ART!