Making Art an Every Day Activity with Children

"A Bug's Life" with Paint Markers

As an artist myself I know how important it is to find time every day to practice my craft and I wanted to find a way to encourage my son to make time for his art every day too. Not only do I see art as an incredible tool for communication and emotional expression but also for fine motor skill and handwriting development.

I am constantly evaluating the toys that my son has and finding ways to make them more accessible or valuable. For most of them it means making only one thing accessible at a time. The Montessori Method does a good job at teaching this with activity trays and teaching children to clean up one tray before accessing the next. While I don't have a Montessori classroom setup at home I have found my own way to organize his toys so that my son has become accustom to having one type of toy out on the coffee table at any given time to maximize his appreciation of the activity available. Take a look at my post on LEGO set organization if you want an idea of what I mean.

Adding some paint and sponges and cotton balls options

With all of the other toys kept to a minimum and organized in ways that make them accessible, I have chosen to go in the opposite direction with art. Instead of art supplies tucked away and forgotten about, I have them out all the time. If my son gets bored with his current activity and is feeling indecisive or frustrated or anything that would hinder him from choosing his next activity on his own, there is always a place for him to draw. It doesn’t take much, just paper and crayons, markers, pencils, or tempera paint.

If I find that my son isn’t gravitating to his art space, I add a bit of variety. Some days I’ll throw in some stickers, paint, colored paper, or just random constraints like only make a few colors available because sometimes we need constraints, not variety, to be creative. I’ve been encouraging arts and crafts for my son since he was able to hold up his head but it wasn’t until I gave him that space that he started saying “I just need to draw!”.

The other thing that we do, which comes naturally to me because I’m always enthusiastic about art, is to celebrate his artwork. For us this means always talking about it, naming it, signing it, and displaying it. He carries it to his room where he can change out one of his three art pieces for his newest creation. It’s a beautiful process for him and I both.