Each week I try to share a fun and easy project you can do
at home with your little ones. My posts usually include step by step instructions to get a final result. But, what started my blogging journey is simply
making messes at home with my toddlers. Over the years we have enjoyed splatter
painting, adding food coloring to snow sculptures, body painting and so much more. Through making messes we have explored our imaginations and the world around us; and have learned just how things work.
Toddlers and young kids are innately creative. Process art focuses on creating for the sake of creating with no fixed instructions. It is completely open ended.
We often get caught up in making things Pinterest perfect and share
worthy that we forget about the process of creating.
Process art allows kids to explore different materials
of their choosing without expectations for perfection. Just wiggling a paint
brush around on an empty page opens the door for creativity, so does squishing paints through your fingers and toes, or doodling on scrap paper. So how can you
help your little ones explore their world through process art?
5 ways to help your little ones explore their world through
process art:
1.
Make a creation station. Create an inviting
space with open access to art supplies. This allows your child to grab supplies
when inspiration hits, and it gives them a place to work. Be sure to include a
small table, or use a table cloth to accommodate messier projects.
2.
Skip the brushes. Let your child immerse
themselves in the sensory process of creating. Let their fingers do the walking
through paints, glue, pudding, sand or other another medium and then onto the
paper. Without the constraints of lines, your child is free to follow where
their imaginations go. Play dough is another excellent way to let your kids
get lost in the process of creating with no end project in mind.
3.
One size does not fit all. Keep a selection of
different sized paper on hand and allow your child to choose how big their
project will be. You can even hang a giant piece of paper on the wall and let
your kids create an endless mural by adding new things to it over time. Let
them choose a new medium each time for a really cool one of a kind piece of
art.
4.
Get an easel. If you can’t spare the space for a
table get a simple art easel with some storage. This will give your child a
place to create, and it is mobile. You can take it outside and let your kids draw
or paint what they see.
5.
Think outside the box. Don’t just limit yourself
to creating art at home at your creation station and using traditional art
supplies. Get outside to let kids draw in the dirt with sticks, build rock
sculptures by the river or build sand castles at the beach. Kids
can create patterns with different colored leaves and add in other things they
find outside. The entire world is literally their canvas. (And most of the mess stays outside).
The most important thing to remember is to let your kids take the lead. Don’t offer criticism or directions; just
watch their natural ability to create. Creativity is the foundation for so much
of their future learning and problem solving skills. Allowing your kids to
engage in the process of painting, or drawing or building with found objects
naturally encourages fine/gross motor skills, sensory exploration, spatial
reasoning and so much more.
Using washable paints, markers and crayons will definitely
take some of the worries out of the mess factor. However accepting that messes
are a part of the process is the key to giving your child the freedom to
explore.
The Whatever Mom is a full-time wife and twin mama living on coffee and wine. She enjoys the pure rush of cleaning the BIG potty between loads of laundry. It is her dream that moms everywhere accept and embrace the Whatever Mom philosophy which can be found here. You can also find her musings and popular shares on Facebook and Twitter. Stay up to date with her creative ideas and outings on Pinterest.
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