HRM Parent Blog

This is a guest blog post from Penelope Kuhn, who runs a local business specializing in photo illustration using children’s art work. Thanks Penelope for sharing your thoughts with us!

One of the most impressive things about my daughter is her lack of inhibition when it comes to creativity. This raw unfiltered expression is very common in young children. I too want to be as free and uninhibited. Watching her has inspired me and given me something to strive toward!

At times I catch myself trying to ‘control’ some of her creativity; fortunately, I’ve become more self aware of this stifling behaviour and usually catch myself. Below are some ways you can help your child expand their natural curiosity and creativity. The overall objectives are to a) focus on the process, not on a final product, and b) to try to see art everywhere (as a way of life), but DON’T label objects, try seeing things in terms of form, light/shadow, colour and texture.

Focus on the process, not the product: Your child's piece de resistance may not look like much of anything to you, but her/his methods and artistic experimentation allow him to expand his creative thought process. MaryAnn Kohl, author of Discovering Great Artists and 15 more award-winning books about kids' art says, "Children who feel free to make mistakes and to explore and experiment will also feel free to invent, create, and find new ways to do things." Focus on the child and the process of what they’re creating. Ask your child questions about the process, but not the result. To a child, it doesn’t matter. Just playing with the paint might be their only goal. Studies on early childhood education have also shown that creative play in the early years pays dividends in adulthood.

Freedom: Allow your child the freedom to create their OWN art without giving them your expectations (or assistance). A child who creates freely learns to enjoy and benefit from art, and becomes more self-confident in their abilities to do all sorts of things (not just art). A brown blob might not be what YOU expected, but the child who created that blob is a proud and confident child indeed.

Show it off: Display as much of your child’s artwork as possible. Never allow your child to see you throwing away their artwork. If you can, mat or mount the work (even if it’s a brown blob). Hanging her creation on the fridge, on a bulletin board or in your office is all it takes to build your child’s creativity confidence.

Ideas for stirring the creative juices 

• Make a story board for a play.
• Make musical instruments.
  
• Decorate play clothes for a play.
  
• Come up with your own language, verbal and written.
  
• Play with a felt board - make characters/objects out of felt and tell a story.
  
• Design your own game.
  
• Start a story with your children, and let them finish it.
  
• Make books from magazine clippings and let your child dictate the text (if they’re too young to write).
  
• Make edible art from your food or desserts (pudding painting with food coloring is a blast).
  
• Play the concoction game (let children make their own concoction with their choice of ingredients and have them name it).
  
• Make art out of garbage or recyclables.
  
• Take special trips and record your experiences with photos, art, or words.
  
• Have your kids place photo(s) of themselves, friends, or family/pets in a scene that they create (photo illustration).

I often wonder how the human race survived so long without this thing called the internet. Sure, it can be a massive time-suck, and too much information can be just as frustrating as too little information, but I know I would be lost without the internet gods. Yesterday was a perfect example. Still searching for Valentine's craft ideas (Carolyn's suggestions on Friday were great fun, if you haven't checked them out yet), I came across these 'Jolly Lollies' from Family Fun (see above picture). At the same time, my son Alex walked by. As soon as he saw the picture, he burst into hysterical laughter. After a few minutes, he went quiet, looked very seriously at the picture, and finally said, oh-so gravely, "I can make that."

Thank you, internets, we have a winner!

In more internet travels, I came across a template for the lips and moustache, along with labels to go on the lollipop sticks. There, you can't get much easier than that now, can you? I think this would be a great activity if you have a lot of Valentine's to make.

In yet more internet travels (I might need a detox soon), I stumbled on these adorable DIY Valentine's Day goodie bags from Twig & Thistle. I can't quite decide which one I like best, so might need to do both:

(I think the promise of chocolate is putting the second one in the lead...)

You can print these out directly onto craft bags, or if you think your printer won't like that, onto labels and then stick them on the bag. Paper lunch bags from the grocery store should be suitable for that. Hey, I suppose plain ole paper would work and then get the littlies cutting and pasting. That way you can even pass it off as a craft from the kids! More details and the templates are available here and here.

Have fun!

Thanks so much to Carolyn Clegg for this - her response to my desperate plea for Valentine's Day help! You are a lifesaver, Carolyn - thank-you thank-you thank-you! :)

There are literally hundreds of crafts and activities floating around on the Internet to choose from this Valentine’s Day season (look to the end of this post for a list of links). The trick for me was finding a couple that were age appropriate for Eden, my 2 ½ year-old. I know from experience that I can only keep her in one spot for so long! So, the experiment began with two little activities...

Marble Heart Painting

Supplies: Construction Paper, Marbles, Shoe box (or tray with a lip), Paint (remember marbles are a choking hazard, so please be careful)



Cut hearts out of your paper and lay flat on the bottom of your box. Place your marbles into the paint. Cover the marbles completely with your paint and drop them into the box. Roll your marbles around by slightly tilting the box in different directions.



Puffy Valentine’s Day Hearts

Eden does like to paint. So, I thought I would have her try out a different texture of paint for her Valentine hearts. I don’t think she really noticed the difference until she dove her hands into the mixture and proceeded to smear it all over the place! The results were pretty fun. This paint really does dry puffy.

Supplies: Shaving Cream, Elmers glue, Tempra Paint, Poster Board or Thick Paper, Paint Brushes



Mix your shaving cream, glue and tempra paint to make a puffy paint texture. Give children paint brushes and let them paint onto poster board hearts. The paint dries puffy.



Valentine’s Day Craft & Activity Links

http://familyfun.go.com/valentines-day/

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/valentine/

http://familycrafts.about.com/od/valentinesday/a/valentmain.htm

http://holidays.kaboose.com/valentines-day/

http://www.nickjr.com/valentines-day/

I received this guest post from Carolyn Clegg a few weeks ago during those long days of rain. I didn't get a chance to publish it before we started having beautiful weather, but now with Hurricane Bill today, it seems like a good time! If your power is on and you have a printer, you can print out the images Carolyn used here to make your own game. Stay safe!

After climbing the walls with my daughter for the fourth consecutive rainy day, I decided it was time to slow things down a bit and work on her language and concentration skills.



I decided a matching game would do the trick. I chose nine images that she can identify and set them out in a grid using my computer. I printed off two copies of the grid and laminated the front and back of each sheet of paper using a transparent contact paper I purchased from the hardware store.

The next step was to cut one of the grids down to individual images. From there my daughter could place each individual image on top of the corresponding image on the full grid.

This can be done with colours, shapes or photos of loved ones as well.

For an older child, cut down the second grid into individual images as well and play a memory game .



A few other matching and sorting activities we’ve done in the past include:

• Matching fabric swatches  (cut a fabric swatch into matching squares)
• Placing coloured popsicle sticks on corresponding coloured construction paper. (Bonus: it's fun to watch a toddler colour popsicle sticks - they get more marker on themselves than on the sticks!)
• Sorting and matching various pots with their lids
• Sorting and matching socks when folding the laundry

This month's guest post from Carolyn Clegg comes at a perfect time - FINALLY the weather looks like it's going to give us some summer after all, so we can all actually get out there and enjoy those bubbles!

Kids love bubbles.  They love blowing bubbles, they love chasing bubbles, they love catching bubbles. Here is a quick and easy activity that will produce wonderful piles of bubbles fun for you and your little one.

Supplies shown here: a bottomless and capless 500ml plastic bottle; an old washcloth; an elastic; dish detergent; water; tray.

The first step to making the Foamerator is to simply cut off the end of an empty plastic bottle using a pair of kitchen scissors or an X-Acto knife. The second step is to find an old washcloth and wrap it around the newly cut end with an elastic. The third step is to pour some bubble juice or dish detergent onto a cookie sheet or tray and dilute with a bit of water. Lastly, dip the washcloth end of the bottle in the mixture and gently blow into the top of the bottle.

And, there you go - you’ve got bubbles to play with. Lots and lots of bubbles!

Bubble blowing soon turned into bubble dancing at my house! Enjoy.