In order for children to create art, they need an inspiring space. The art center should look like an artist’s studio, filled with children’s art as well as that of well-known artists. The art center should allow children to feel creative as they explore materials to express themselves. The art center also allows children to make their own discoveries, either independently or together, and to feel confident in the choices they make.
Sometimes children in child care settings can have problems getting started in creative art experiences. They may not know what to make, want an adult to do a project for them, or copy another child’s work. Here are some suggestions to handle those situations.
During the first three years, young children develop their artistic skills by having fun experimenting and learning all the wonderful things they can do. Child care providers need to understand how children’s art abilities develop in order to plan effective art experiences for the child care program.
When babies engage in creative art, it is a whole body experience. They often are as interested in grasping, chewing, pounding and squishing as they are …
During the preschool years, many children show tremendous growth in their creative art abilities. Child care providers can support children’s artistic development by planning art activities that encourage preschoolers’ developing art skills. Here are some basic milestones in preschoolers’ art development:
By age 3, many children are learning to better control their hand and wrist movements. They are making forms and objects that are almost, but not quite, recognizable to adults. Circles, lines …
When young children are creating art, it’s important for child care providers to remember to praise effort instead of product. Praising the product is very tempting. It’s easy to say, “I love your beautiful painting!” without really thinking about the words. Unfortunately, there are several ways that your well-meaning praise can go wrong.
Child care providers may praise children’s artwork to help increase their self-esteem. Unfortunately, children sometimes misinterpret teachers’ praise. Here are some common …
Children in child care settings can sometimes run into problems while they are doing creative art activities. They may finish early or want to work longer on their projects, they may get stuck in an artistic rut, or get frustrated because the activity is too simple or difficult for them. As a child care provider, here are some suggestions you might try if you run into this dilemma.
A common dilemma child care providers face is children who are critical of their own or another child’s art. These children may dislike their own art, have unreasonable expectations or standards or criticize another child’s art. Children of all ages may be critical of their art, but older children are more interested in drawing realistically and may be most critical when their artwork does not turn out as planned. Here are some suggestions you might try when children criticize their …
Well-planned art experiences are a valuable part of the child care curriculum. Early childhood art activities need to balance process and product. Process is doing, product is the result. Young children are process-oriented. For infants and toddlers, the joy of art is in the doing and making. They usually want lots of finger paint, really squish it around, and then pay no attention to what happens to their picture afterward.
Preschoolers love to experiment with color and design. They do …
Many child care providers work with mixed-age groups that include children of many different ages. Planning your child care curriculum to include creative art activities that are appropriate (and safe) for infants through school-agers can be challenging. Here are some tips for child care providers to choose creative art activities for multi-age groups.
