• Young babies (birth to 6 months):

Pictures are a worthy enough substitute for the words your baby cannot yet write. Snap photos of your adorable little one in her grandparent-funded layette.  Your sister-n-law will know that you (and baby) appreciate the cute and useful gift of a teething ring when she sees a pic of your infant happily gnawing away.  Tuck these precious moments into your thank-you notes.

• Older babies and toddlers (6 – 24 months):

More active babies might need a more active medium to convey their delight with a new gift or toy: video.  Smart phones and small recorders make it easy to capture a special moment and email it within minutes.  Older toddlers can talk enough and follow simple directions long enough to participate in the filming — you two can work together to produce a sincere, simple “thank you!” shout-out that will make the recipient’s day.

• Two and Three year olds:

Let the scribbling begin!  Really.  Your youngster can “ready, aim, scribble” on a piece of paper, so let her.  On the first try, a two year-old might approach this task with the grace of Norman Bates, turned loose on another shower curtain; but by age 3, many children will have the muscular control to grasp a kid-sized (washable!) marker  and copy the example circle that you draw.  When she adds eyes and a smile to that circle, she will have written a powerfully accurate chronicle of how someone’s generosity made her feel.

• Preschoolers:

If, at this stage of note-writing, your child asks you to be the scribe, it’s very helpful for you to go along. Just make sure the words are all hers. Kiddie thoughts move much faster than little fingers. Reading back the note you’ve written on behalf of your child reinforces the magical connection between ideas and the words that represent them.

We know that a kid this age isn’t often in touch with her “inner editor.”  And you know what?  She don’t need an external one right now.  Let her experiment with letter-like squiggles, random letters, crooked letters, and invented spellings. That stuff is all developmentally appropriate at this stage.

Thank you for reading.

~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.

Yesterday was Monday. Tomorrow is Wednesday… That means today is ToesDay.

Whenever I host parent-child storytimes, I always include an art activity.  One of the biggest hits is footprint art.

Though charming to us adults, some kids won’t like it. Won’t tolerate it. Having a wet, slippery foot that needs to be washed will send some children running. Which is okay — you can make graffiti art from the footprints they leave behind.

For those whose children will enjoy ToesDay, here are some ways to jam it full of learning:

Make it seasonal.

• Brown footprint + red dot, scribble, or button on the heel of the footprint = our favorite reindeer! Twisty pretzels, broken just right, make 3-dimensional antlers that you can help your child glue onto the paper, on top of the big toe, and the little toe.
• Black paper + white paint = a Halloween ghost. The heel of the footprint becomes the ghost’s head, and stick-on stars make the black night shimmer.

Make it about the process.

• Involve children with gathering the supplies. Talk about what the purpose of each item you plan to use. Discuss the field trip to the school supply store you might make to purchase the paint, or the stickers.
• Parents often put on a show for kids, without letting kids be aware of the “before, during, and after” work.  In other words, the planning stage, the part of the process that requires following instructions and rules, and the equally important time devoted to responsibility and clean-up.

To keep these activities easy, simple, and fun, remember:

• Use a heavy paper, like construction paper or cardstock. Cardboard is a good medium, too.
• Use a sponge to dab paint onto your child’s foot. A brush will tickle too much.
• Use only non-toxic fingerpaint.
• Keep choking hazards away from younger kids. Independent completion is great, when a kid is developmentally ready to remember to be safe. Buttons, pretzels, marker tops, stickers, and construction paper cut-outs are suitable for independent use by children who are past the mouth exploration stage — that usually means 3 years and older.
• Let each child particpate on his or her own terms.
• Kids who don’t like to be painted might enjoy passing out the wet wipes to those who are in need of a tidy-up. It has always been interesting to me to see which kids want to help clean others’ tootsies.  That’s another topic for another day, but developing empathy is a milestone, too.

Display the art immediately after having your child sign his or her name (initial, squiggle, or drop of drool) — that’s what great artists do, they sign their work. Send some of the creations to grandparents, and safeguard some for a memory book. But most of all, enjoy your job as a parenting maestro.

Check back tomorrow for more on The Art and Work of Creative Parenting series.

Outdoor chalk play is a nearly perfect activity:

• Chalk can be a tool for art or for hopscotch.
• Children of different ages can create together, or
• Younger ones can color independently.
• Kids can practice writing.
• Cleanup with a hose is just as much fun as the activity.
• But — cleanup is optional!

Specific developmental benefits of playing with sidewalk chalk.

Motor development – Kids practice using their small muscles (fine motor skills) to grasp and hang on to the chalk. They use their larger muscles (gross motor development) to bend down, scribble HARD, hop back up to admire their work, run over to your hammock and drag you out to come and see their work. Oh yeh, that hopping on one leg thing? Then the other leg? While thinking? Beautiful electrical storms are lighting up their brains!

Intellectual or cognitive development - When you show your young children how to play games like hopscotch or bean bag toss, don’t focus on accuracy the first time out. What really matters is that they understand that there are rules to remember, and that there is a sequence to follow. Practice will ensure accuracy. For today, their attempts to participate in a group activity (social development) is enough. The confidence and enjoyment (emotional development) they gain from simply trying to participate will motivate them to continue working until they get it “right.”

Language development – Chalk play can enhance your child’s communication skills by simply giving her an opportunity to write letters, draw a picture that has meaning, invent letters that she wants to practice writing. Remember to take seriously whatever she decides to communicate. The sun is shining, and she is trying. She can’t get it wrong.

More language boosts will happen when your child needs to be able to

• listen to rules of a game,
• listen to the other players,
• respond to the words, “It’s your turn, now” or
• blurt out, “Hey! My turn!”

Parenting tip: if she recognizes that brother just took two turns, her sequencing ability (intellectual skill) is coming along, don’t you think??

Whew. Somebody’s gonna need a long afternoon nap, Mommy… yet another benefit of playing outside with chalk.

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.