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Artsy Kids
The Art of Teaching Art to Children
By Nancy Beal and Gloria Bley Miller
If the children want to talk about their work, that's fine. But don't ask them to explain it. They really are not able to articulate what they've done. They have no clue as to where a drawing comes from. Neither do we. There is no barometer to measure that kind of creativity. It's the natural genius of being a child. Instead of asking such questions, enjoy the unique brilliance of your child's work, the playful images and visual stories. Marvel as I do at the creative center from which these impulses spring. In school I will sometimes ask the children such questions as, "How did you know to do that?" or "How did you ever think to draw this?" My questions are of course rhetorical. I am in fact commenting on the children's ingenuity. They understand this and are pleased with my response.
The art of children can grow richly when someone is around to notice what is on the paper, to describe some aspect of the work and to save and treasure that work. There are two ways to cherish your child's work. The first is how you look at it and comment on it. The second is preserving the work physically. I highly recommend that parents -- even those in small apartments -- save some of their children's work. This lets the child know that you are responding to his efforts. It sends him and everyone else a message about the value and importance of his work. In school at the end of the class, if I were to let the kids walk out with their drawings and say nothing, they would get the idea that what they did was of no particular interest. Instead, I say, "I've got to have this. Leave your drawing with me. I need to took at it." (Sometimes I'll say to a child, "I want to make a copy of this for myself before I give it back to you.")