looking on Pinterest, looking for resources, setting it up and it is over in 5 mins. These are my tips to planning art projects that will keep your children exploring and trying out new ideas for hours;
Have age appropriate resources that children can access independently. things we have at home are:
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Paper - notepads, recycled wrapping paper, old magazines, plain paper, coloured paper
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Palettes, paint & brushes- paper plates will do & different sizes of brushes
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Pens, crayons, oil pastels, chalks, pencils
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Joining things - Glue, tape, string, stapler, hole punch, scissors
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stickers
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Recycled boxes, tubes, lids
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Extras: stamps and ink pads, straws, cupcake cases. lolly sticks, matchsticks, clay, feather, buttons, sequins, pipe cleaners, feathers, and glitter
Planning activities
Plan activities that are child-centred as possible. While it is tempting to look up ideas and let make ‘off the peg’ art , in reality it is often the adult who is being creative. An activity to make daffodils out of yellow paint, pre cut green paper leaves and egg cups, allows little creativity for children, the only choice they have is where to put the paint and stick the leaves. Instead, if my child was interested in flowers, I would collect different recycled boxes, containers, lid, some straws, lots of different paint, real flowers, pictures of flowers, sellotape and glue to join. I would lay the materials out for them and let them choose what to make. They may want to make flowers but the resources are open-ended and give them the choice of making anything they want. They may want to just play with paint or cut up paper. For children’s creativity to flourish they need an adult who is there to help, but lets the child lead the play. When planning an activity here are some questions to reflect that help me:
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Will they be able to make their own decisions and make choices?
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Can they decide what the outcome/end result will be?
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Will they be able to experiment and try out ideas?
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Are the resources open-ended enough?
Are there resources that will inspire them to paint/draw/model? -
Will the activity encourage them to draw, paint, make a model?
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Will the activity help my child to develop new skills like cutting, sticking or printing ?
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How can i support, while letting them lead?
How do you support your children’s creativity? I would love to hear your tips for encouraging them.