Friday 17 June 2016

Art with a 4 Year Old

I have a four year old who is suddenly obsessed with art.  Everything has the potential to be recycled, covered in gloopy glue and paint and repurposed.  He looked quite upset recently when he realised what happens to all the things in the recycling bin and since then our bins have been a lot less full as things seem to be squirrelled away to make 'art' with.  

Writing never appealed to him until he started school and I know how important art is for his fine motor skills so it is something we have encouraged.  The Works do some great art supplies and they are such great value too - something you need with a 4 year old that can use a whole tube of gloopy glue on one egg box.  

We have been stocking up on the kids craft supplies and have an over the door shoe organiser in the dining room which has different craft items in each pocket - I saw the idea on pinterest and it is perfect for children if you find one with clear pockets - everything is on display so they can feel inspired.  Pompoms end up everywhere but they are much softer on your feet than lego blocks - trust me!  


Here are our top tips for doing art with children:

1) Aprons are a must! children are messy and easily distracted and if like mine they want to get creative as soon as they get in from school, you will want to protect their shirts!

2) Have art supplies somewhere easy to reach, but not too easy.  We keep paint and glue higher up so they need to ask first but things like stickers and stampers lower down so that they can start without me.

3) Limit what you keep.  Dylan would happily fill the house with recycled rubbish but we don't have the space and I really don't need it all.  He has a special drawer for projects and art work as well as a wall in the playroom to display his best bits.  If they get full then something has to be thrown out to allow for something new

4) If you want to encourage them to be arty without the mess then look at water painting.  Aquadoodles are brilliant for inside and giving them a paintbrush and a pot of water is ideal in the summer - get them painting the side of the house and know that it will all dry the same day!

5) Make a list of birthdays and never have to buy a card again.  The boys love making birthday cards so we keep a list of whose is coming up so that they are never forgotten

6) For younger children, expensive supplies aren't always worth the money.  Cheap and lots of it are the way forward and the Works sells a range that starts at 49p.

7) Once you start with glitter, you can't go back so be aware when you introduce it for the first time!

8) Try and enjoy it.  It is great for their motor skills, encourages creativity and imagination and takes the stress out of rainy days.  

4 comments:

  1. Great tips!! I really miss my kids being this small and wanting to sit down and do crafts with me.... now they just hibernate in their rooms watching Youtube videos and face timing friends! *huff*

    ReplyDelete
  2. There are some apps for taking photos of artwork. I haven't used them so not sure how good they are. Perhaps taking photos and creating photo books for him to keep xxx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great tips! Oscar is just getting into arty stuff and would happily sit and paint all day :)

    Louise x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great tips - although I struggle with the "limit what I keep" tip - I want to keep everything much to my other halfs dismay!! lol :)

    ReplyDelete

I love comments, so please let me know what you think!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...