Let Your Tiny Artist Go!

Children come into my preschool classroom with a broad array of interests, abilities, skills, and curiosities. It is a challenge every day to come up with ways to engage each of them to keep them busy and happy.

Recently, we have been doing our "Care Bear" program to encourage caring for others, and being friends to each other. The Care Bear, Sunshine Bear, tells me who he wants to go home with at the end of each day, and that child gets to go home. Then, the next day they come back and share a drawing and pictures of their day together.

It shocked me that after the first four nights in a row, this is what came back:

Notice anything? 

They are all done in PEN! Black, boring pen. 

Now, I know that many times tinies want to try things that adults do, and there is nothing wrong with them exploring how to use a pen. 

However, this made me wonder how many parents have art supplies readily available to their tinies? 

In my classroom, we are ALWAYS allowed to draw and color. At all times, there are markers, crayons, and scrap paper 'at the ready.'

"The pointy crayons are always a hot commodity!"

Young children are developing vocabulary, honing their skills, and building up to do great things. They are bursting with creativity. Coloring teaches fine motor skills, pre-writing abilities, communication (ever ask a child to tell you about what they made?!), and innovation. 

The world seems to be all about "readiness" for little ones. Kindergarten readiness; reading readiness; in order to be "ready" they have to have practiced! 

Encourage your little to color every day. It is a great way to calm down. When I have students who are getting too worked up, I simply ask them to "go sit and color until [they] feel calm." Sitting and coloring is soothing--and when I feel too worked up, I sometimes even sit and color with my tinies! Plus, it's just a great thing to do while you chat with them, listen to them, and find out what they are really interested in "these days."

Designate a small area in your home to be a "craft corner." It does not have to be extravagant--but chunky crayons and colorful markers are all you need. Put old scrap paper or junk mail in a basket nearby, and voila! You have a place for your children to express themselves anytime they want! 

If your child does not seem interested, find new items to put out--try letting them decorate a cereal box or color a coloring book. Have them sit before nap or bedtime as a "calming" activity. Getting that time to color is crucial! And like I said, while pens are okay to play with once in a while, crayons are thicker for small hands to grasp appropriately, and the colors are stimulating and exciting; inviting them back over and over to create new artwork.