Art Development

That blob of color, scribbled line or fuzzy shape may mean a lot to your child. Now how do you talk to them about it?

The best way is honesty, according to online resource Family Education Network (life.familyeducation.com).

“Children are hungry for true appreciation. They do not want flattery, opinions or even blind support for what they do,” according to the organization. “All children create from who they are in the best way they can.

“If parents and teachers don’t introduce the idea of better and worse, the children won’t either. When children are a littler older, they have already been conditioned to think in this way.”

Early art experience not only encourages creativity, but fosters independence, sensory exploration and happy memories, according to Bright Horizons Family Solutions (www.brighthorizons.com).

Similar to learning another language, you are never too young to study art.

The benefits of being involved in art range from heightened brain activity to increased creativity, according to www.kinderart.com.

“It’s been proven that early exposure to visual art, music or drama promotes activity in the brain,” Andrea Mulder-Slater wrote on the education Web site. “Participating in art activities helps children to gain the tools necessary for understanding human experience, adapting to and respecting others’ ways of working and thinking, developing creative problem-solving skills and communicating thoughts and ideas in a variety of ways.”

Mulder-Slater says encouraging children to draw will help foster interest in other art.

Although creativity is enhanced by artistic activities such as painting, drawing, scultping, and playing music, being creative is more than just making pretty pictures. Creative thinking, as Lynda K. Fowler of the Ohio State University Extension explains, “is the ability to see things in a new way, to see problems that no one else may even realize exist, and then come up with new, unique, and effective solutions to these problems.”

There are many sites listing a “top 10 list” of how to raise a more creative child. These sites list everything from making silly soup, suggested by writer Emily Abedon on the Better Homes and Gardens Website, to buying an MP3 player for your child, as hinted on the Kansas National Education Association's Web site.

So they stopped painting with finger paints – now how do you get children to appreciate other art?

Many experts and articles recommend making it fun and interactive.

“Create an art center with art supplies such as paper, crayons, markers, glue, string and other supplies readily accessible to your children,” the Texas Pasadena Independent School District suggests on its Web site.

The school district notes children are encouraged by creating their own paintings, sculptures and music.

“Provide creative tools that can be used to paint different shapes or lines, such as straws, sponges or Q-tips,” according to the school’s Web site.

Before a museum field trip, librarian Julie Kant recommends reading “Babar’s Museum of Art.” Book author Laurent de Brunhoff tells a tale of what a royal family does when their town’s train station closes.

At just about one-and-a-half years of age,whether through parenting, a teacher or self-exploration, all children begin to scribble. Although it is such a wide spread activity, many people just don't realize the importance of scribbling in the physical development, self-expression, and literacy development of a child.

The physical development produced by scribbling may seem obvious. In her book, "Young at Art", Susan Striker points out that scribbling helps train and strengthen hand and arm muscles needed later for writing. What may not be so obvious is how that the physical movement of scribbling actually greatly contributes to language development. Arnold Gesell, a noted child psychologist, has pointed out that kinesthesis, or body movement, is essential for language and social development.