Art is important in everyones life.The early you start the better they get in this skill.Its great for early childhood development as it improves fine motor skills,concentration,their creativity,expressing emotions,confidence,eye hand coordination,language development as well as decision making.They experiment with different clours,textures and materials and create unique masterpieces.
What Age Should Young Kids Begin Art?
Art is a great skill and learning activity.Ithink it should be started as early as 6-8 months.In my opinion the early you start ,the more creative they are in later years and have some interest to do crafty work.I introduced finger paints ,crayons and stamps from 7 months onward and my children started to show more and more interest in arts and craft and are still enjoying it during their free time.
What Sort Of Art Activities Are Best For Toddlers?
There is a long list of activities that you can do with your toddlers.In the begining you will have to sit with him/her a couple of times to do the activity and also try reinforcing it so that they develop interest and also know how to do it indepenedently when the same activity is given to them a couple of days later .Activities that toddler can enjoy are:
1)Pasting (it could be pasting crepe papers,newspapers,ribbons,leaves etc...)
2)Finger painting
3)Nature collage(you can ask them to collect leaves,grass,twigs,gum nuts,beans etcc)
4)Stamping(stamps with ink pads are great other wise you can cut our different shapes from potato and other vegetables for stamping)
5)Drawing with chalk(use your drive way for this activity or maybe a stick on chalk sheet would do great outdoors!!)
6)Dot markers (these are great when you dont have much time to clean up the mess and are easy to use)
7)Paper plate craft(you can help them create animal masks,or maybe flowers,a scene from paper plates.
8)Recycling paper cups(dont throw away your bobba tea or greeno cups instead recycle them to make pencil holders or maybe a herb planter)
9)Egg carton craft(cut out and let them paint egg cartons to make caterpillar,or maybe flowers or a turtle)
10)Stickers(give them different stickers to create greeting cards or scenes)
11)Cotton bud painting
Must Have Art Supplies For Toddlers:
There are some basic supplies which you can add to your craft trolly or art caddy and gradually build it up according to his/her needs.Some supplies that i stocked up for my kids are listed below.
1)Toddler scissors
2)Glue stick
3)Washable paints
4)Art smock
5)Colour pencils
6)Thick crayons
7)Crepe papers,construction papers,newspapers,cellophane sheets
8)Paint brushes
9)Foam stickers
10)Chalk
11)Washable markers
12)Pompoms
13)Cotton buds
14)plastic mat(to spread it on the floor or table )
