She usually dropped everything - books and toys when we pick her up from the school. So, we were surprised and puzzled when she first ignored us just to complete her colouring a few months back. From that day on, we often find her with a notebook and writing/colouring materials.
I think her interest and skills comes with age and the exposure she had. At school, she had did a wide range of art activities using paint, crayon, papers and recycled materials. At home, we started to let her doodle since she was very young. She also love to watch her artistic talented uncle at work.
"Art on demand" - Uncle drew Belle for her
While not all children will be interested in art from a young age, I thought the following 5 simple ways are useful to encourage art skill in children.
5 simple ways to encourage arts skill
1. Make art a part of playtime.
Whether is it an invited or self-initiated art activity, it is good to have art as part of playtime. It's great that she enjoys art as it helps to keep her entertained, boost her creativity, improve her motor skill and train her concentration level. Increased exposure and practice will help boost interest and confidence to do more. But don't worry if your little ones do not always welcome it. They might just feel like doing something else at that time. There are also times where Emma don't feel like doing her drawing and colouring.
Half way through her rainbow
2. Inspire and give room for exploration
Inspirations come in many form. They can be real creative art pieces, pictures in the storybooks, people or things that the children see and experience. I still give instructions and inspirations but I'm giving her more room to explore on arts herself these days. For instance, I correct how she hold the colouring pencils but I don't stop her colouring a human or even the whole pages all in pink. Many times, those free drawing and colouring surprised me more than the structured one.
3. Enjoy the process, not just the product.
Many would love a nicely drawn and coloured picture but forgot that it takes time to garner the skill and talent. So, it's really just enjoying the process while learning and not be too focused on the product. Over time, Emma actually learnt about the wonders of arts and found herself enjoying it more.
Distracted and so it's just a duo coloured rainbow
4. Experiment with a variety of art materials
Your little ones might prefer one art material over the other, so keep on experimenting with a variety of art materials. It excites them and keeps them interested. To list a few drawing materials, we use coloured pencils, markers, pens, dot paints, poster colour and pencil. Emma also loves to use scissor, glue and coloured papers!
5. Showcase your child’s art and writing
As children, we all love to have our work displayed as it's a form of encouragement and certainly boost confidence. We haven't been try displaying art work yet as Emma only started drawing more when we move out of our old house. But, I would love to have a small display corner for her when we move to our new house!
Emma and her elephant!
Ending off, don't worry too much if they aren't interested in art as yet. Children grows and changes faster than we thought. So, just do what we can, let them develop at their pace!
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This blog is in collaboration with Friso.
Kids learn from experiences whether big or small, good or bad. That's why Friso provides the right nutrition for your child to be strong inside to take on challenges.
Kids learn from experiences whether big or small, good or bad. That's why Friso provides the right nutrition for your child to be strong inside to take on challenges.
#frisosg #frisostronginside #frisoexperience
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