with art supplies; crayons, oil pastels, colored chalk, tempera paint, watercolors, clay, play dough, paste/glue, scissors and various kinds of paper. Show your child how to manipulate the art tools or ways to use a particular medium. Also, include a lesson on how the child can clean and care for the materials they have Red and blue paint cover the large paper on the child-sized easel. Not even a speck of white remains. Only straight lines, curves and finger marks can be distinguished. The child artist (4 year old Austin) now has purple fingers and a spot of red above one eye. He does not approach me or anyone else as he completes his work; he simply goes about the task of making the work available for the next child. He removes his painting, rinses his brushes and cleans every drip of paint off of the easel. After this process is complete, he does not seek approval from any adult or child. This work is not for or about anyone but him!

Art is a form of self-expression that gives a great deal of satisfaction to the one who feels free to emote. It is a fabulous tool for children who are amidst the most creative task in the world—the creation of the adult they will become. It is important for parents and teachers to respect and understand all of the tools the child uses to accomplish this monumental, creative task. Parents can support creativity in their children by offering experiences, at the same time avoiding pitfalls that can limit a child’s willingness to create.

To encourage creativity in your home there are some simple things you can do. Provide a space that is stocked with art supplies; crayons, oil pastels, colored chalk, tempera paint, watercolors, clay, play dough, paste/glue, scissors and various kinds of paper. Show your child how to manipulate the art tools or ways to use a particular medium. Also, include a lesson on how the child can clean and care for the materials they have

rk; he simply goes about the task of making the work available for the next child. He removes his painting, rinses his brushes and cleans every drip of paint off of the easel. After this process is complete, he does not seek approval from any adult or child. This work is not for or about anyone but him!

Art is a form of self-expression that gives a great deal of satisfaction to the one who feels free to emote. It is a fabulous tool for children who are amidst the most creative task in the world—the creation of the adult they will become. It is important for parents and teachers to respect and understand all of the tools the child uses to accomplish this monumental, creative task. Parents can support creativity in their children by offering experiences, at the same time avoiding pitfalls that can limit a child’s willingness to create.

To encourage creativity in your home there are some simple things you can do. Provide a space that is stocked with art supplies; crayons, oil pastels, colored chalk, tempera paint, watercolors, clay, play dough, paste/glue, scissors and various kinds of paper. Show your child how to manipulate the art tools or ways to use a particular medium. Also, include a lesson on how the child can clean and care for the materials they have

m of self-expression that gives a great deal of satisfaction to the one who feels free to emote. It is a fabulous tool for children who are amidst the most creative task in the world—the creation of the adult they will become. It is important for parents and teachers to respect and understand all of the tools the child uses to accomplish this monumental, creative task. Parents can support creativity in their children by offering experiences, at the same time avoiding pitfalls that can limit a child’s willingness to create.

To encourage creativity in your home there are some simple things you can do. Provide a space that is stocked with art supplies; crayons, oil pastels, colored chalk, tempera paint, watercolors, clay, play dough, paste/glue, scissors and various kinds of paper. Show your child how to manipulate the art tools or ways to use a particular medium. Also, include a lesson on how the child can clean and care for the materials they have

uses to accomplish this monumental, creative task. Parents can support creativity in their children by offering experiences, at the same time avoiding pitfalls that can limit a child’s willingness to create.

To encourage creativity in your home there are some simple things you can do. Provide a space that is stocked with art supplies; crayons, oil pastels, colored chalk, tempera paint, watercolors, clay, play dough, paste/glue, scissors and various kinds of paper. Show your child how to manipulate the art tools or ways to use a particular medium. Also, include a lesson on how the child can clean and care for the materials they have

with art supplies; crayons, oil pastels, colored chalk, tempera paint, watercolors, clay, play dough, paste/glue, scissors and various kinds of paper. Show your child how to manipulate the art tools or ways to use a particular medium. Also, include a lesson on how the child can clean and care for the materials they have been given. Once you have introduced your child to a new material give her time and space to create, invent, investigate and explore the material as much as she wants.

Adults should try to remember to focus on the artistic process not the product, especially when working with very young children. Young children engage in art activities to explore movement and their ability to control the tool in their hand rather than to create a preconceived representation of something. Rhonda Kellogg wrote about the stages children go through as they move from their first scribbles to representational art.

Parents often come in to my class at the end of the day and see a painting or drawing that their child has created and they want to engage their child. I encourage parents to make open ended, non-judgmental statements such as “you seem to have enjoyed painting today” or “you chose a lot of bright colors”. Try to avoid asking what the drawing represents because first of all, it may never have been a “thing,” and second, the young child who lives in the moment may well have forgotten and become disappointed when the painting is unrecognizable not only to the parent but also to himself.

The second way parents can encourage children to be creative is to surround them wit