by BlondieWrites on July 3, 2010
Watercolors and Arts for Children
Involving children into art will help them explore their creativity, imagination, artistic skills and kill boredom without spending too much. Art is great way for children to express themselves, there are different kinds of artistic expressions they could explore. One of them is watercolor painting.
Watercolors are easy to clean so children could easily use them. There are also different watercolour exercises that children can do. For example, the wet on wet technique. Let the children apply watercolour on a dry and wet piece of paper. Let them describe how applying paint on dry and wet surfaces are different and where they can be used.
• With color blending, let children mix different colors and draw different images that they see around them.
• Black and white watercolour painting is another great activity. Color the entire paper in black and then let it dry. After drying, draw on the black paper using white watercolour with their own design. It could also be done the other way around, with the paper white and the watercolour designs in black.
• Thread painting uses thread which is dipped in paint. Arrange the thread on the paper in whatever way you want. Then press and pull the thread creating designs on the paper.
• Use watercolour in coloring decorative items that the children made like paper maches.
• Watercolor painting is also a great activity for parents and their kids. Everything nowadays is so fast-paced that we forget to spend more time with family and children. Watercolour painting is a great way to slow down and enjoy life with our family.
When teaching children with art, it is important to understand that what the children see is different from what adults see. They may color animals which are far from their actual colors. Let the children express themselves in this creative experience. It is important to keep in mind that children have potential for artistic expression. Parents, guardians and teachers have the responsibility to let children express their artistry.
There are different studies showing that involving children in art would help them reduce their stress. They are able to develop self-confidence since they have created something which is appreciated by other people. Aside from improving their confidence, they are also able to improve the senses like vision and sense of touch.
Teaching art on kids could help in their cognitive growth, improve their memory, helps them understand better, and enable them to become competent. Art could also improve their symbolic communication since children were able to translate what they see around them into their own symbols and reflection of reality.
For older children, parents may still interest them in painting. Art materials and art books could pique their interest and eventually involve them in art and craft making. Watercolour painting is just one of many art media which can be maximized by the kids. Adolescents and young teens could explore other media like comic strips. Parents should keep in mind that children’s involvement in art should never be forced, instead the children should be provided with opportunities where they can make their own decision.
by BlondieWrites on January 15, 2010
Do you remember how fascinating it was to mix colors as a child? Finding out that yellow and blue make green is a profound discovery for a young mind, and an important one. But in order to learn color mixing, it’s important to be able to see it in action.
Fortunately, there are many color mixing experiments that toddlers can do at home. And they are very inexpensive. Here are some to try.
Mixing Colors By Hand
Young children love to finger paint. There’s just something about the feeling of wet paint on the hands that they can’t resist.
It’s easy to turn finger painting into a color mixing lesson. Try putting one color of paint on one of your toddler’s hands and another color on the other. Then have him rub them together three or four times. When he pulls his hands apart, a whole new color will be there.
Once your child has gotten accustomed to the idea of mixing colors, he might like to try to mix his own unique shades. Give him plenty of paper and paint in primary colors and let him work with minimal guidance. He’ll quickly realize what works and what produces dull blacks and browns.
Mixing Colors in Water
Another fun color mixing project involves mixing different colors of water. This can be accomplished with clear glasses or pitchers, water and food coloring. Start out by filling the containers about half full of water and adding a different color to each one. Then have your child mix the colors as he pleases, either pouring one color directly into another or mixing colors in a separate container. Show him how to add more food coloring to change the shade or make the color more intense.
Once he’s gotten the hang of it, try quizzing him on the colors. Provide a container of water in each of the primary colors, and ask him to make a specific color by mixing two of them. This will provide valuable lessons not only in color mixing, but also in trial and error.
Coloring Food
Kids who have been exposed to color mixing might like to try their hand at coloring some of the foods they eat. Vanilla pudding and white cake frosting are good mediums for color experiments. Kids can add a drop or two of different colors of food coloring and mix until they end up with their favorite colors. And when they’re done, they can eat their creations.
Mixing colors is lots of fun for kids, and it’s very educational. It can come in handy if they decide to pursue art later in life. And any child can benefit from the reasoning and memory skills taught by color mixing experiments.
by BlondieWrites on August 5, 2009
The toddler years are full of discovery for a child. Not only is she learning about the world around her, she’s also learning about herself. One of the most discussed aspects of toddlerhood is how children learn to use words to convey their thoughts and feelings. But children also learn to express themselves in other ways during the early years.
One of the most intriguing ways that youngsters express themselves is through art. If you hand a young child a crayon and a piece of paper, she will almost certainly start scribbling away contentedly. While this may not look like art to an adult, it’s fascinating to young minds.
Toddlers are not consciously aware of color co-ordination and spatial relationships. But art can give them a sense of these things. And this is only the beginning. Some of the many benefits of art for toddlers include:
* Art boosts a child’s confidence. Even monochromatic scribbles on a piece of paper give kids a sense of accomplishment, because they’ve created something that wasn’t there before. And as they progress toward using multiple colors and forming recognizable shapes, they gain even more confidence.
* Artistic activities are soothing. Being a toddler can be frustrating, and participating in a quiet activity provides a chance to calm down. Art takes a child’s mind off of the source of frustration and channels it into something enjoyable and productive.
* Art lengthens a child’s attention span. The simple act of putting crayon to paper or squeezing a ball of clay requires a child to pay attention to what she’s doing. And while toddlers tend to spend most of their waking hours on the run, art can keep them sitting still for several minutes at a time. As their skills develop, so will their attention spans.
* Art builds motor skills. Holding a crayon, finger painting, squeezing and flattening clay or play dough, and gluing shapes onto paper all require kids to use their hand muscles in different ways. Such activities also promote hand-eye coordination.
* Creative activities promote abstract thinking. When a child takes an idea and puts it on paper or models it in play dough, she is creating a physical representation of something that exists in her mind. Learning to use this type of thinking early will help your child learn more efficiently throughout life.
Self-expression is a critical part of every child’s development. Speech can help toddlers convey what they’re thinking and feeling, but it can hardly keep up with their constantly evolving brains. Art provides another much-needed outlet for budding young minds, and at the same time it teaches important skills. It’s also lots of fun for them. With all of these benefits, it’s easy to see why encouraging toddlers to be artistic is so important.
by BlondieWrites on August 5, 2009
Art is a wonderful thing for children. It helps them develop creativity, cognitive skills and motor skills. It is also great for self-esteem. While these benefits are undeniable, art also poses some risks to children. That’s because many art supplies contain toxic chemicals.
It’s fairly well known that kids should not be exposed to certain types of paint. The chemical fumes are quite obvious, and the containers are clearly labeled with warnings about breathing those fumes and ingesting the product. But many parents are unaware that not every product that contains toxic ingredients is clearly identified. There are certain labeling standards that must be adhered to by law, but the label doesn’t always tell the whole story.
Every art supply sold in the United States must conform to ASTM D 4236 standards. This means that they must display warnings if they present an acute or chronic health hazard. Manufacturers are not, however, required to list each product’s ingredients on the label.
Some art supply manufacturers have their products tested by the Art and Creative Materials Institute (ACMI), which is a non-profit organization that conducts evaluation and testing. ACMI may approve the product or require the manufacturer to place a caution label on it. Products with caution labels are not recommended for use by children.
While these measures are helpful, some harmful products can still slip through the cracks. For example, in 2000, three brands of crayons bearing the ACMI seal of approval were reportedly found to contain asbestos. While asbestos was not used as an ingredient, it may contaminate talc, which was an ingredient. ACMI testing did not find asbestos, but the manufacturers voluntarily stopped using talc in their products.
Another concern involves ACMI’s standards for approval. They do not require that products contain no toxins whatsoever, but that toxins not be present in quantities that pose a hazard. That means that approved products may contain small amounts of solvents, heavy metals, phthalates and other substances that are known to be dangerous.
How to Choose Safe Products
Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee that a product we buy off the shelves contains absolutely no toxic chemicals. But we can make choices that are less likely to harm our children’s health. Here are some things to keep in mind.
* Avoid oil-based paints. They often contain solvents that can cause serious health problems. Watercolors are the safest choice for children, but even they can contain dangerous pigments. Make sure they bear the ACMI approved seal.
* Keep kids away from anything with a strong smell. This is usually an indicator that a solvent is present. In addition to paint, such solvents may be found in markers. Choose markers that are water-based if possible. Alcohol-based markers contain some toxins, but they are less toxic than solvent-based ones.
* Steer clear of rubber cement and similar adhesives. They contain neurotoxins. White glue and library paste are much safer choices.
* Do not allow children to work with dry clay. Clay contains silica, which can be harmful if inhaled. Wet clay is much safer. Children should be kept away from kilns, because some of the dust is released when clay is dried in them.
If you are concerned about toxic chemicals in store-bought art supplies, you can make your own. Finger paint and playdough are easy to make at home. Using all-natural ingredients can eliminate concerns about hazardous chemicals. Recipes may be found online.
It’s unfortunate that many art supplies can be detrimental to our children’s health. But if we make informed choices, we can greatly reduce the risk and concentrate on the good things about art for kids.
