MotherGoose Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I am wondering about art for my 4 yo dd versus coloring and crafts. I want her to enjoy being creative, not to be anxious to please. She was in preschool for 2 and 3 year old years, and recently, I gave her paints and told her to paint and she said, "what should I paint" and said her teachers told her what to paint. I believe this, they almost always sent home "cute" projects that she did not complete herself involving handprints, etc and the elephants were always gray, the apples were always red. I am not so much worried about her skill level, and I let her just play with the paints because I know that's important too. I also haven't pushed "coloring in the lines," although I know that's an important fine-motor skill. I'm not looking for a curriculum to be the answer to my questions, but I want to encourage her creativity and I REALLY don't like crafts where everyone's looks the same and the kids can do little of the work themselves. I'd rather her work hard on something that's nearly unrecognizable, but that she planned and executed, than something "cute" she was just the vehicle for completing. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kathkath Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 read this http://www.amazon.com/Young-Art-Self-Expression-Problem-Solving-Appreciation/dp/0805066977 :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 If she's more comfortable with a theme for now you could just give her one. You could ask her to draw/paint/create an animal, or a toy, or a picture of your family and she comes up with the rest herself. Or your could read a book and ask her to draw a picture about the story. That's a favorite activity here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted June 25, 2010 Author Share Posted June 25, 2010 Thanks, definitely going to get that book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doodle Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Check out Preschool Art; It's the Process, Not the Product by Mary Ann Kohl. If this looks appealing to you, let me know. I have a copy that needs a new home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganClassicalPrep Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 My DD is 4.5, and I do both directed projects and free form projects. I definitely want her to develop her own creativity, because those are the best projects, but I've found that since we've started doing some directed projects she is happier with the projects she does on her own because she's able to make the (house, cat, tree, person...) look like a (house, cat, tree, person...) Before, she would just get frustrated when she was trying to draw or paint because it just looked like "scribbles". lol. Maybe if you continue to do directed projects, but also provide access to art supplies all the time she will start to do some on her own. Or try directed art projects that promote creativity like "Draw 4 lines from the top to the bottom of your paper. Now fill one section with a design. Draw 2 triangles near the bottom. Color one." I hope that makes sense. I don't know if this type of activity has a name, but it is a nice mix of directed and creative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoyfulMama Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 Two books you might like: The Anti-Coloring Book and website of Susan Striker The Art of Teaching Art to Children Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted June 25, 2010 Share Posted June 25, 2010 I can remember in school the panic of being given wide-open assignments. "Write about something fun." Talk about nerve-wracking! Some people are just more comfortable with a little more direction or a narrower focus. You can give her some ideas / parameters without doing it for her. Read a book, then ask her to draw something specific related to the story. (Like if you read Ferdinand, ask her to draw a bull. Maybe she'll draw him in the bullring, maybe she'll draw him sniffing flowers, maybe she'll draw him with his mom. Or if you have been running errands that morning, ask her to draw something she saw. Like draw a picture of the dog we saw at Starbucks. Or ask her to draw a picture of the cardinal that was on the bird-feeder while she was eating breakfast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helena Posted June 26, 2010 Share Posted June 26, 2010 For painting at that age we like this book: http://www.amazon.com/Painting-Children-Brunhild-Muller/dp/0863153666. Wet on wet watercolors with quality paper is a wonderful experience. Here is some of what we use: http://www.dickblick.com/products/strathmore-watercolor-paper-student-pad/?wmcp=google&wmcid=products&wmckw=10135-1025-5576 http://www.amazon.com/Watercolor-Paints-Set-of-6/dp/B0013N16WY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1277524223&sr=8-1 (I didn't realize how expensive these paints are! We belong to a charter school, so our supplies are paid for. Dick Blick has great stuff for great prices). These websites aren't art suppliers, and there are a lot of crafts, but the products are so wonderful I wanted to share them with you in case you've never seen them. Working with natural products can really transform the art/craft experience. We especially love bee's wax. :) http://www.achildsdream.com/ http://waldorfsupplies.com/ hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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