Artsy Kids

The Art of Teaching Art to Children

By Nancy Beal and Gloria Bley Miller

For parents who wish to encourage their children to do art at home, I'd like to offer some general principles.

The general principles include creating a work space for the art activity, responding to the child's work and saving examples of it. How the physical space is arranged depends, of course, on your living arrangements. In an apartment, you might set up a corner of a room. In a private house, a section of the attic or an enclosed porch permits a greater expansiveness.

In any case, there should be a table. Shelves are helpful too, since you'll want to store the materials. It's also important to establish a certain order or pattern for using the materials and cleaning up afterward.

Parents should be primarily aware that art is not about achieving craft-like results; that the emphasis should be on the creative process. When children are given art materials, they will find a way to put them to use. They will usually put them together in a way that is unique and meaningful to them. Let the children come up with their own direction. If they seem to be stuck (which doesn't happen often), a question about a favorite color or a trip they took can spur them on.

Although praising the work may always seem to be called for, the way in which you respond is the key to helping your child's artistic development. Parents who focus on the work and give it serious thought go much further in supporting their children's efforts than those offering blanket comments like, "Oh, that's pretty," or "I really like that." Such remarks may in fact discourage the children who weren't thinking about pretty or producing something likable, but were trying to match up the edges of the pieces in their collage.

Want to see more?

• No Can Do!
• The Art of Creation
• Understanding Toddlers' Drawings