Art Exploration with Toddler Children
Toddler children are developing their sensory awareness . Offering art each day to your toddler provides an opportunity to explore and try various materials and refine fine motor motor skills necessary for later writing. Art gives children practice in learning to focus while they create art. Art for toddlers is a means to express themselves freely and feel confident and independent as they make their own creations. Art will develop your toddlers creativity and give them a sense of enjoyment.
What is art? And how is it different from a craft?
Art does not have a clear wrong or right in the process of creating the piece of art. It is not making a product. Creating an art piece is about the process of doing the work. Whereas creating a craft is an activity with multiple steps to follow and directions that will create a type of product at the end.
When and how to offer art activity to the children. children?
Art activities can be offered anytime throughout the day. Many times art is used as a tool in Preschool education for children to express their thoughts and ideas at the end of a lesson.
Art also incorporates science concepts when children explore with mixing colors, textures and using various art supplies.
When children create an art piece, parents may show interest by asking their child questions about what they made? Or what their child likes about their artwork. . This will help you to know the idea or story of your child behind the art work and it also gives your child an opportunity to speak and explain their ideas in words.
However, to do art, parents or adults will need to find a space for children to create or express themselves with materials that are child appropriate.
Art can be expressed in many forms and media such as painting with poster paint, water colors, food colors, crayons, colors from natural materials such as with flowers, soil, leaves, or vegetables. It can be done using various materials or tools such as with color pencils, paint brushes, sponges, sticks, twigs, feathers, scrubs, spoon, or fork. Painting can be on various surfaces such as paper, cardboard box, egg carton, plastic trays, ice, floor and wall surfaces, wood, plastic, ceramic tiles, mirror, cement, brick, tree, bench, fabric, paper towel, or even on natural materials such as painting on the tree trunk, or different types of leaves. Creating art in various ways will expand your toddlers creativity to express themselves and encourage unlimited ideas.
Benefits of Art
Offering art to your toddler will help your child to express their self with enjoyment, feel calm and relaxed and encourage their free flow of ideas and imagination.
Have fun trying out some of the suggested activities with your toddler.
by Teacher Nancy Sivilai