Praise Effort Instead of Product When Discussing Children's Art

Child's hand with paint brush

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.

How Can Praise Be Negative?

Child care providers may praise children’s artwork to help increase their self-esteem. Unfortunately, children sometimes misinterpret teachers’ praise. Here are some common …

Balancing Process and Product in Creative Art Activities

Toddler painting with squeeze bottle

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 …