One of our favorite sources at LiveKidz has been KinderArt.com who published an article a while ago about Making Connections Through Drawing. We understand that some parents, especially those that don't identify themselves as creatively inclined or feel like they're simply out of ideas for arts and crafts, will appreciate a few new ideas for craft time at home. We've included a snippet of the article below.
Drawing is one of the most important activities you and your students can do. Drawing not only provides the basis for other creative activities – like painting, sculpture and printmaking – but it also provides a direct link with reading, writing and especially mathematics. The connection between drawing and geometric shapes and measurements simply cannot be denied. And do you know what else? Drawing is the single most accessible form of art available. All you need is a pencil and a sheet of paper.
Here are some quick art ideas you can implement right away without a lot of preparation or materials:
Have your child create picture stories. Everyone draws a series of images—use stick people and box-shaped houses. Once everyone has created a picture story, share the images to see if the other participants can decipher the “code.” See how many versions of the story develop.
Youngsters can dip their fingers in some washable ink and make fingerprints on paper. They can then use markers to add eyes, ears, and noses to create people, cars, animals, and more.
Suggest that each child keep a scrapbook that belongs to him or her alone. Drawings, postcards, clippings, and pieces of grass can all go into a scrapbook. Once a month you can have a scrapbook-sharing day.
Hand out paper and invite child to draw circles of all sorts, letting them overlap. Next, they can color in the shapes that appear—taking care not to let two shapes touch one another. Voila, a creation! If you have more time, try the same thing with modeling clay.
Provide cut-up pieces of fruit and vegetables, along with paint and paper. Have your child paint a fruit and veggie picture.
Enlist your childs’ help in creating signs. Supply paper, cardboard, or wood and lots of brightly colored markers.
Have your child imagine there is a hole in the wall. What is lurking behind the wall? Talk about it. Ask them to draw it.
See if your child can make figures using torn paper. No scissors, no pencils, just paper. If you have more time, the torn paper can be glued on another sheet and painted with watercolors.
Set the clock and have your child draw stick figures on a sheet of paper for 10 minutes, spending no more than 10 seconds on each drawing. When a sheet of paper is full, they can move on to another sheet. Discuss the drawings at the end of the session.
Try having your child draw their names in big blocky print with pencil on paper. Next, encourage them to fill the paper with all sorts of designs using markers, crayons, or oil pastels. If there is time, cover the paper with a light watercolor wash
One of the most important lessons you can teach your child is that more often than not, a mistake is not a mistake—it’s a happy accident. Illustrate this idea in an eraser-free art-making session during which children
are encouraged change a “mistake” into something else. No erasing allowed! Turn a boat into a sunfish or change a lion into a raspberry bush. Before long, going with the flow will become second nature for your students.
Find the whole article at: https://kinderart.com/blog/art-education/
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