It is natural and even instinctive for children to want to express themselves through art. As children advance in age and artistic skills, they may need more guidance in terms of specific projects and expected outcomes.
When working with younger children like toddlers, less is more. This is true for both materials and structure. The best way to let a toddler explore their creative side is to give them 3-5 different colours (they will most likely end up using only one!), a sheet of paper and plenty of attention!
The aim is not to guide their activity but to be with them while they are exploring and make positive comments throughout. Resist the temptation to impose your interpretations on what they are doing, instead ask them to describe what they are drawing and you may be surprised what they come up with. Toddler art can be very abstract and what starts out as a picture of a car can easily end up more like a plate of spaghetti!
Some toddlers have a shorter attention span than others and may bore quickly and move onto something else. If this happens it can help if you start drawing on another piece of paper and talk about what you are drawing. If small children are having difficulty holding the crayon or marker (the chubby ones are best for little chubby hands!), you can put your hand over theirs to help guide them, but let them determine the movements.
I don't think you can over-praise your toddlers artistic efforts - feel free to gasp in amazement at their masterpiece! When your little one sees their efforts pinned on the wall or fridge they will be encouraged to create more. Asking them from time to time to tell you about the picture can also produce interesting new interpretations and encourage them to express themselves verbally. They may put even more creative effort into their next piece!
Source : Ezinearticles
No comments:
Post a Comment