Arts & crafts basics

So you'd like to get started.  Here's what you need to know:

Get some basic materials:  Crayons (no, you don't need a million. A nice box of 24 washable crayons is fine.  If you have a toddler, 8 is really enough.), washable paint and a few inexpensive brushes, maybe a pack of watercolors, and you are ready for some art.  Oh, and don't forget paper...anything is really fine.  Kids can be prolific artists once you get them started, so try bringing home discarded printer paper from the office.  You might try big rolls of paper (available at craft or office supply stores) for a larger project. 

Here are a few things to think about:

Toddlers:  Your little one just needs a chance to explore.  Give him a crayon or a brush full of paint, and let him experience the feeling of making marks.  He'll be excited to see what he can do.  Talk to him about the kinds of marks he's making (we're not actually drawing "things" at this point.)  Talk about straight lines, curvy lines, long lines, short lines, dots, etc. Talk about big spaces and small spaces.  He may not have much control over what kinds of marks he's making, but you'll be helping him figure it all out with just a few words like this.  Be prepared for a mess.  Little ones need some time to figure out how to keep their marks within the page--something that will be interesting to watch develop.  Once they get a little older and more experienced, you'll see them keeping their marks on the page, even beginning to make very basic shapes.

Pre-School:  You'll see your 3-5 year-old trying to combine shapes and lines, beginning to actually represent something she might see, like a face.  Ask her to tell you about what she's doing.  Also, she's probably ready to branch out a little and try new materials.  Try giving her scissors (the kids' scissors with rounded tips, or scrapbookers' scissors with different patterns are relatively safe too) and magazines and let her find pictures or patterns she likes.  Watch closely to make sure she's being safe with the scissors, and guide her a little on how she can cut out the piece she wants.  You can just let her experiment with cutting or have her glue the pieces to another paper with a glue stick to make a great collage.  Talk to her about shapes and sizes, about the space that is covered and the space that is still open, and you might even introduce words like "overlapping" and "patterns", or just "over" and "under".

Elementary:  At this age, kids are ready to express their ideas.  Kids vary greatly in their ability to make drawing that really looks like something, but you can encourage them to make drawings based on ideas.  Ask them to tell you about their drawing--as they are doing it or after they're done.  You'll be impressed with what they have to say.  Consider asking them to "draw something happy" or "make a drawing that feels warm."  Talk about textures and patterns.  Give them open ended ideas so that they can challenge themselves without feeling like there is a right or wrong way to do it.

At each age, just try new materials a little at a time and see what happens.  As long as you let them explore and experiment, they'll be learning and probably having fun.  Let them try collage with different kinds of materials (See our Re-creations section), clay, printmaking...your child is bound to find something he or she enjoys.

And make sure you talk with your child about art.  Click here for some ideas about how you might encourage their thinking with some simple words.