Art & Work of Creative Parenting: Field Trip Friday
Firestations and petting zoos have their place, but when you want to take your child on a journey of discovery, a walk in your own neighborhood (with curiosity as his tour guide) is more than enough.
Your young child’s natural inclination to touch and gather is a good instinct for today’s art activity, making collages. Tomorrow and the next day, your preschooler will be able to enjoy his art, and remember the process that led to the finished artistic product. Many tomorrows later, you’ll be gazing at what remains of that day.
In the warm months, he’ll notice grasses, terrain, spent feathers, flowers, lizards, and winged insects. Allow him to gather a petal here, a pebble there. The cooler months will offer a bounty of acorn shells, pine needles, pine cones, fallen leaves, and browned grasses. As he gathers items, ask him questions about his choices (i.e., his thinking processes).
Collage artist Megan Coyle endorses the idea of using “found objects from outside like flowers and leaves, to create more organic works of art.” The Washington, D.C. artist also advises using a non-toxic adhesive (like good ole’ Elmer’s School Glue) and thicker paper “like watercolor paper or perhaps even cardboard [to] make it easier to hang the collage once it’s complete.”
Young toddlers will enjoy gluing. Random gluing. Pointless gluing. Just making a glue dot on the background paper, then slapping something on it will be a sheer joy. Older toddlers and preschoolers will be capable of creating a more cohesive piece, especially with the morning’s field trip as inspiration. They might draw a picture of a bird to serve as new home for the feathers they found. A curvy line of pebbles looks like the nature trail you just walked, doesn’t it?
Ms. Coyle also offers a rainy-day back-up plan for MommyGarten.com readers: “You can use whatever you have in your craft box, such as tissue paper, wrapping paper, fabric, or magazines. The beauty to collage is that you can take common, ordinary objects and turn them into works of art.” See our blogroll for a link to the adventures of Megan Coyle’s collage canine, Bosty — your kids will love this dog!
Remember to have your artist sign his work — Megan Coyle always signs hers. Whether your kid signs with a scribble, a paint-dipped fingerprint, a sticker, or a first initial, signing his creation is another way to be proud of his work.
Read more Emotional Development posts
Carly Jennings | Emotional Development | 
| 1 Comment
»
Sensational article Carly, and a wonderful idea for my grandson. He is very inquisitive and relishes in new discoveries with such excitement that I know he will find this activity fun and stimulating.
Comment by Terri Cunningham — March 1, 2011 @ 6:47 pm
Leave a comment