I’m planning on getting Destiny Baby his own set of art supplies this Christmas. An easel, set of paints, brushes–the whole works. He has a creative streak in him that hasn’t been fully explored, even in his preschool. They do lots of preschool and toddler teaching with drawings and tracings with pencils and crayons, but not a lot of painting or art work (although the toddlers in his class did build and paint a fabulous Green Recycle Man out of recycled materials the school collected from families during the course of a week).
My real motivation is envy (I mean this in a good way). Several months ago, we went to a birthday party for our friends’ 3 year old son. Around the house were framed hanging of these beautiful abstract watercolor paintings. “Who did those?” I asked. “Our son,” replied our friends the proud parents. Now, their son is probably gifted, because the paintings really were good, but his mom explained that she had enrolled herself and son in a Mommy and Me art class and these framed masterpieces created at the hand of a highly intuitive toddler were the result! So, I’m on a mission to inspire Destiny’s Baby’s inner artiste with his own set of art supplies. Since I am not an artist (or artistically inclined) myself, I’m going to need some help. I’ve been looking at art books and have narrowed it down to three well-reviewed books:
First Art : Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos
(This is the #1 bestselling nonfiction education book for preschoolers on Amazon–I didn’t realize until I checked!)
The Big Messy Art Book: But Easy to Clean Up
According to reviews, this 144-page book really lets your toddler’s imagination and sets it free. Activities include painting masterpieces from the things they see in everyday life like a swing or a ball.
Scribble Art: Independent Creative Art Experiences for Children (Bright Ideas for Learning)
The author has also written and published 13 other books on teaching young children to either create or learn about art. I’m also looking at Science Arts: Discovering Science Through Art Experiences (Bright Ideas for Learning)
Have you had success with inspiring your child’s artistic side? Share your experiences in the comments below!
