Can I stress again how important free art is for kids? What the heck is free art you ask ? Creativity without an agenda , although I shaped the paintings into leaves for fall, the activity was very much child directed. He choose out of a basket of 5 brushes ( even though he only used the bath pouf) which to use, and the paint colors too. Also throughout the week I offer him paint, crayons and his favorite; pens with simple paper to create. Kids need this freedom to develop their creativity and hopefully a passion for art!
- Gather your materials. For free art with a toddler I offered crayons or paint, a variety of brushes including a bath pouf, and I chose the paper. The paper in our case was a grocery bag. With an older child I would provide more choices.
- Allow your child to decide which paint color to start with
- Start painting with the brush of choice.
- Add another color,
brown was our winner, too bad on brown paper it doesn’t show up well. Resist overriding your child’s decisions even if green would have looked better, he chose brown so brown it was. - Let dry and cut into a fun shape if your child wants !
Wonderful crafts! I don’t know how I came across your site, but I love it! I nominated you for a blog award. Stop on by to check it out. 🙂
Great Idea! Just curious how old ur little man is?
Jolene- My little guy just turned 21 months!
I like your analysis of free art! I try to make sure my baby has free time, and as she gets older, the easier it is!
What I’ve found is that after I introduce her to a medium (different types of paint, tape, glue, etc.) through a more structured activity, she is more likely to pick it up and try different things with it during her free time. So it’s all important . . .
I agree ! Often times if you just say “Go For It ” with a preschooler they will look at you like ” NOW you are letting me do whatever I want?!” and not know what to do.
Another teacher at a wonderful school I worked at had “Free Art Friday” and the kids would never be stopped wondering what to do because they had the whole week to gather ideas!
Perfect! My husband got me a spa set for my birthday that had a poof so I will use my old poof as a painting utensil! I am sure my 16 m/o will be ecstatic as well as my three y/o! Thanks again, Allie! 🙂
Thanks for the great activity. I’m an infant teacher and my kiddos loved it!