AimeeM Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I'm getting ready to hit "buy" on an art program for my rising 1st grader. This is my analytical thinker, my "builder-boy". He doesn't care for art, crafts, etc. He doesn't like coloring. However, I do think it could be good for him - he has some fine motor skill delays and this would be a more enjoyable way (comparatively, I mean) of working on those skills. We *could* just go the route of "Fine Arts" in the more general sense - art, artist, music, and composer studies. This particular program applies art/projects TO art and artist study, so it isn't just a book of craft projects with no real purpose... but then I'm back to wondering - is this just going to add more "work" to our day, if it's something he doesn't enjoy. He's always excited at the IDEA of doing a craft or art or a project, but then quickly slides into simply wanting to supervise and not wanting to participate - iow, it quickly becomes a "chore" for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Sounds like the sort for whom art needs to have a purpose. And "improving your fine motor skills" doesn't count. :p Perhaps teach him to use a sewing machine, do machine maintenance and encourage him to want to draw his own patterns? Then move onto sewing buttons and some other hand sewing. After that, he could learn to knit dishcloths. He might like it better if there are useful things. My brother has a fine arts degree, despite weak fine motor skills. He got into sculpture. :) Your boy might like mosaic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebbyribs Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I have one who doesn't really like art, but we do it as a "together" subject because two of my other kids love it. (They draw in their spare time too; he doesn't.) I think he's getting something out of it, but he definitely doesn't put as much time and effort into the projects and sometimes just refuses. I think I may offer him the option of beginning piano in place of visual art projects. I feel like some basic drawing skill is a good life skill to have, but not as strong a requirement as good reading, writing, and math skills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 He definitely cannot safely sew (and I can't foresee a time when he would be able to - not for a long while yet). This is my kid who can't stand getting dirty (sensory issues) and has no inclination towards playing with machines, unless they are the non-messy variety (think electronics tinkering). Honestly, we do not maintain our own machines (outside of the electronics that DH maintains - any other machines that we own, we outsource maintenance ;) I think that if I give it a couple of years, when he can more easily manipulate certain things (like paintbrushes, clay, and pencils) he may enjoy all aspects of art more - I think right now his issue is that it's difficult, somewhat painful (strength issues), and just not something he desires to mess with after working hard on his 3 R's already during the day, kwim? If it's important (like, super important) that he learn to apply art, I'll buy it - if it's something that can, and/or should, wait then I'm good with that, too :) Sounds like the sort for whom art needs to have a purpose. And "improving your fine motor skills" doesn't count. :p Perhaps teach him to use a sewing machine, do machine maintenance and encourage him to want to draw his own patterns? Then move onto sewing buttons and some other hand sewing. After that, he could learn to knit dishcloths. He might like it better if there are useful things. My brother has a fine arts degree, despite weak fine motor skills. He got into sculpture. :) Your boy might like mosaic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiara.I Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 How important is it? Good question. North American culture doesn't particularly value art production (drawing type.) We don't emphasize it in school, we don't give funding for it to schools, and it's considered an "extra-curricular." It used to be valued, though--consider Jane Austen's books. EVERY woman could draw and sketch and do basic watercolours, as well as learned singing and the pianoforte. Those values changed. But then you get into the discussion of...what *should be* the curriculum? Is art production (and which bits of it) a valuable life skill? Is it something that you, as a family, DO value and want to ensure happens? Because there are plenty of kids who don't like math who are still expected to learn it, whether they will or no. Should the same value be placed on art? Or not? And certainly different people come down on different sides of that argument! ;) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I feel like I say this all the time, but have you had him checked for retained primitive reflexes? Go tickle his hand with a paintbrush and see how many you get up to before he snatches his hand away. I agree with the suggestion of piano. We have some similar issues and are taking it very, very, very slowly, but it does help. You said he was a builder boy. What does he build? How about getting him an easel and having him paint. Does one need fine motor skills to do impressionist paintings? I might even get him to do a study on Australian aboriginal dot paintings and give it a go himself. I wouldn't bother at all if he wasn't interested in art, but you said he was and this might be a low impact way of keeping the interest going until his skills catch up. It would be a shame if, by the time his skills caught up, he'd learned he "can't" do art. He could use the dot painting style and symbols to make maps of his own places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 My 2 main goals for my adult remedial students are to be able to self-soothe and entertain themselves with nothing but a pen, pencil, eraser, and a pack of 24 pack crayola crayons. And to be aware that there are tons and tons of drawing instruction books on the market for every level of ability and that ALL people can draw if they want to and that ALL people produce something of worth no matter their skill level. For color theory, I like Using Color in Your Art. We use crayons instead of paints. For beginning figure drawing, we use the Lilah Beans in Zentangles for Kidz, and the thumbprint people and Bean Buddies in Ed Emberley's Complete Funprint Drawing Book. I think a first grader would have trouble zentangling, but that is what we do next. With a little boys like you are describing, I would draw robots next, using simple shspes. And if he liked monsters, I would get a super easy drawing book on them, as there is no right or wrong way to draw a monster. We have weaved holiday placemats from construction paper. And glued little cuts out on paper cups. Most of that I downloaded for free. Papercrafts to decorate for a holiday meal always go over well here. And cardmaking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I don't use a curriculum, because I have very specific goals of what I want to accomplish. My students come from backgrounds of failure and deprivation. I have to get things right the first time. They need instant gratification and to feel immediate hope. Also we deal with a lot of sensory issues, so messy art supplies are not well tolerated. And homeless students have very limited storage options. So the projects need to just be in a thin journal or worthy of doing even if we are going to throw them away when completed. Is art important? I think so, but I have my own pretty radical ideas about what is and is not for ME and MINE. Every family and culture is different. What is important for one might not be for another. I have dropped all cultural literacy goals, but that certainly would not be right for many families here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Links to books suggested above. http://www.amazon.com/Using-Color-Your-Art-Williamson/dp/0824967542 http://www.amazon.com/Emberleys-Complete-Funprint-Drawing-Book/dp/0316174483 http://www.amazon.com/Zentangle-For-Kidz-Sandy-Bartholomew/dp/1574213407 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Pattern drawing is part of math. If I wasn't doing zentangling I'd be looking for other pattern drawing options targeted at younger children. https://books.google.com/books?id=2AR5qFGOioAC&pg=PA20&lpg=PA20&dq=pattern+drawing+math&source=bl&ots=BA4AfcghPO&sig=20eanfc_J545Ks2MDieslnxdJd8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEoQ6AEwDWoVChMI1azD_PSbxwIVhTk-Ch0WEAfu#v=onepage&q=pattern%20drawing%20math&f=false Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Sorry, this is choppy, but I am just tapping this all out on a cell phone, and it is very awkward. Lilah Beans http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HIc8klu0UiI/UC79BhLHb-I/AAAAAAAACQQ/AcsOEq1-3WE/s1600/LilahCollageWeb.jpg Scroll about 2/3 down for the Ed Emberley stuff. http://andria-drawingnear.blogspot.com/2014_07_01_archive.html?m=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 DLTK holiday printable crafts http://www.dltk-holidays.com/ Holiday paper dolls. These can be used for table setting crafts and cardmaking. http://www.makingfriends.com/f_Friends.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Does he play with Lego? I saw fine motor improvement with my son when he started doing more Lego. Mazes help practice pencil work for kids that don't like coloring. I do think art has a place in education. But if he doesn't have the fine motor strength, it won't be enjoyable. For art that isn't drawing/painting, you could try clay (which, being stiffer than play-doh, also helps fine motor) or even soap carving with popsicle sticks carved into tools (there's a book on this for kids, but I can't remember the name right now). Unfortunately, if it is a physical/fine motor reason that he doesn't like art, those would likely be a bust, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I hate to flat out say it is not important. It's not unimportant, but I don't think you have to push him in first grade. Or there could be something he would be interested in that would fall under art. For example, one of mine liked to put together these little wooden kits to make a car, boat, plane, etc. And then he painted it. Yet he hated coloring as well. At this point my art disliker has done some stuff with graphic design using the computer. He likes that sort of "art". For fine motor you could also do stuff like clay, pearler beads, Legos or Knex, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammish Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 My son also never enjoyed coloring or crafty projects, and would much prefer to play with Legos or build something (although he had no fine motor delays). So I was pretty surprised when we started doing art, and I found out that he actually enjoyed drawing and learning to draw. He still didn't have a lot of interest in coloring his pictures, but he did enjoy learning how to draw realistic looking pictures. We used Mark Kistler's "Draw Squad" book, and "What Shall I Draw Today," and we were pretty successful with them. I think drawing felt to him like it had more of a purpose- at least more so than "color in this drawing someone else had already done." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syllieann Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I would just go with drawing. It will allow you to address many aspects of art that could be applied to other mediums later if he wishes. Along the lines of what Hunter was saying, it takes few supplies and can be done almost anywhere. I've come to terms with the same issue in music. My oldest despises singing, but I can still teach him pitch, tempo, rhythm and music reading via an instrument. Children are who they are...embrace it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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