The Art & Work of Creative Parenting: A Week-Long Series
“After the people are gone, art is the only thing that’s left of a civilization.”
~Nia, 15 year-old World History student.
That comment by my daughter is a poignant insight to parenting. When our children leave our homes, what they leave behind for us to excavate is the most tangible summary of the days of development gone by.
A mere glimpse of the green handprint wreath painting instantly transports me back to the front row of the Peace Preschool holiday show. What looks like a stack of scribbled-up papers to others is obviously a sample of artwork pieces that show the progression of my daughter’s cognitive, creative, and motor development — and I-don’t-care how much room the boxes take up.
“I need some art!”
~Nia, when she was a 3 year-old preschooler, stuck at home for Christmas Break.
I guess the holidays had been a little hectic. Then again, perhaps the days had not been busy enough for a preschool veteran who was used to the comforting regularity of Ms. Donna’s classroom schedule.
Whether busy or bored, what Nia really needed is what all children need: a way to capture and record the meanings, thoughts, and feelings of what is happening in their lives.
Art allows young children to:
- Create subjective, symbolic representations of their life events.
- Have a tool to help them remember events, feelings, sights they’ve seen.
- Initiate, direct, and complete their own work.
- Make decisions independently.
- Assess their own work product.
- Accomplish all of the above, before they can even read or write.
What parents can do to help:
- With safety for younger siblings in mind, allow preschoolers independent access to as many of the art supplies as possible.
- Organize the art materials for your child’s ease of use and ability to predict what to expect about the art experience.
- Display the finished art for the whole family to enjoy.
- Make sure older siblings mind their own business (you too, parents). It is demoralizing for children to hear criticisms of their creative choices.
- Sneak in extra learning. There are so many new words kids can learn while they paint, draw, or look for collage materials.
- Sneak in some chores. Children will actually be happy to clean up and care for their art supplies when they realize that is they only way that the materials will remain in good condition for future fun.
This week at MommyGarten.com, we’ll look at various ways for you to help your baby, toddler, or preschooler to create authentic, developmentally appropriate art. Check back for more on The Art and Work of Creative Parenting series.
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Carly Jennings | Parenting Skills | 
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