TIPS

WAYS TO HELP YOUR CHILD EXPRESS HERSELF WITH ART

by: Robbin T., age 11


Give your child some paper, along with color pencils, Cray pas, watercolors, or pastels; ask her to draw any or all of the following:
how she is feeling
what happened
dreams
After she does the drawing, ask her to tell you something about it; describe it, tell you how she feels. You can listen and be supportive.


Take her to the museum if she would like to go. Look at paintings that are big and colorful (not real adult looking or serious); paintings that she will not find boring. You probably know what kind of things she likes. Be sure to go to the food court and the gift shop.

1-Draw and paint with her. She will enjoy it and it will be fun!

2-Collect lots of stuff in a box that you can make sculptures and art with; for example, clothes pins, pipe cleaners, fabric, paper clips, ribbons, lace, etc. Invite her to make something with these things; this could be a sculpture or a collage.

3-Look through books about artists that she might like; pick out paintings and drawings that you can use as examples of what kind of art to make. Understand how and why the artist painted what he or she did.

4-Play music that she likes while doing art; for example, a favorite song or singer.



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Saving Your Kids Artwork

By ClubMom Member Krista, Richland, WA

A frequent problem for parents is what to do with all the artwork their kids produce. We all love it, but let's face it: There just isn't enough room on the refrigerator. Here are some suggestions I share with parents of my art students:


1-Laminate art at a copy or print shop to use as place mats or bookmarks.
2-Buy a blank craft calendar and add a piece of artwork each month to make a unique gift for a relative.
3-Store the favorites in a portfolio your child makes using a pizza box that you let them decorate (your local pizza parlor may donate a new one to you).
4-Scan your child's work into your computer to print out your own note cards. Don't forget to put the artist's name and title on the back of the card.
5-Devise a rotating art gallery. Each relative interested in participating gets to have a piece of art for a month, then it rotates to the next recipient.
6-Be creative! The most important thing is to let your child know you look forward to seeing them express themselves through art.