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Welcome to the Kidz Art Stop a place that will inspire visual communication and development with a playful fun factor for the child and adult. This monthly article will include fun activities for the home, classroom, park, play ground or family vacation. Our focus at Kidz Art Stop is literacy and the arts, stimulating the child’s thinking while they explore and learn creatively.
Have you ever seen a child smooth finger paint over a sheet
of paper with both hands and pull their fingertips through the paint to make
squiggles, shapes and lines? Or observed a child happily coloring and exploring
with crayons? If so, you have seen the concentration on these children’s faces,
and the joyful expressions of art explored. You have witnessed creative
art in process!!
Creating art expands the child’s ability to interact with
the world around them, and provides a new set of skills for self-expression and
communication. Not only does art help to develop the right side of the brain,
it also cultivates important skills that benefit a child’s development.
Art may seem like fun and games… and yes it is!... but you
may not realize that your child is actually learning a lot through exploring
the arts and doing art activities. While at creative play they are picking up
these skills:
Communication skills Cognitive Development
Problem-Solving Skills Decision Making
Social & Emotional Skills Visual Learning
Motor Skills Inventiveness
Self-Expression and Creativity Cultural Awareness
Language Development Improved Academic Performance
We all know children love to play, love imagination, and
love to create stories, so here at Kidz Art Stop we have created wonderful
projects that incorporate imagination, storytelling and creative play. This
month’s reading pick and project is inspired Richard Kidd’s book “Almost
Famous Daisy” and the Grand
Painting Competition…A wonderful story filled with imagination, creativity
and adventure.
Synopsis and review:
Kidd, R. (1996).
Almost famous Daisy. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Almost Famous Daisy is a story about a little girl and her
dog Duggie, who travels the world in search of inspiration for her art. She
wants to create art that is so great that it'll win a contest she is going to
enter. While traveling, she becomes inspired by some of the things that
inspired some of the greats (van Gogh, Monet, Chagall, and Pollock). She
travels all over the world painting and when she finally returns home she ends
up painting her parents, Duggie her dog, and her room. Daisy realizes her most
favorite inspirational things were at home. This book is very interesting and
holds children's attention. I recommend it to everyone from teachers to parents
to child care providers. I found it very useful to help teach geography and
history of art to small children.
After reading the story, discuss the book and share some of
your favorite things and have the child share some of their favorite things (table talk – communication). Have the
child make a list and tell you why these are some of their favorites (self-expression). Have the child pick a
few of their favorites and paint them while talking about why they are so
special (motor-skills, creativity, language development). Allow them to use their
imagination and play with colors and shapes (decision making, cognitive development, hand-eye coordination).
Before you know it, the child is telling you a story about their favorite
things while illustrating the visuals. There is no right or wrong to this
project. Let us not forget… Art is a process, not a product so it’s the
process that brings great rewards!!
Supplies needed:
Gather supplies and allow the child to choose the tools they
would like to use (decision making and control). Remind the child to sign and
date all artwork. A Master always signs a finish product.
Watercolor
paints -
paintbrush - White paper - Crayons – pencil – eraser
And most importantly…. Art
is Life so Live it Creatively!!!
For videos on
children’s art classes and projects you can go to http://www.youtube.com/user/ArtByMia1?feature=watch
You can also visit my
website at www.artsbymia.com
Email:
artbymamamia[at]yahoo.com
Article written by Mia Roman founder of Art By Mia.
©ArtByMia
