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Art Education: How
Parents Can Help
APPRECIATE your child's artistic
endeavors. This seems rather obvious, but children's scribbles
are not necessarily wonderful. As a child grows, perceptions and
drawings improve. When you see inaccuracies in a child's perception
of, for example, how a hand attaches to an arm, have the child
look at an arm and pay attention to the way it attaches. Questions
as to what the child sees or feels when touching a wrist can be
helpful and will enhance the sense of discovery.
DISPLAY your child's art and make
a folder to keep it in when "exhibit" time is over.
The child should periodically clean out the folder and discard
those things that no longer are important to him.
PROVIDE A WORK AREA where the child
can work on an art project. Parents have to teach the child that
where, when, and on what one uses the material is very important.
By the time a child is ready for art classes, crayons, at least,
will be familiar. Working with crayon or pencil can be done at
a table. Later, working with water paints, which are messier,
it may be better to work near a sink or outside near a faucet.
Use art projects as an opportunity to TEACH
GOOD WORK HABITS. (See the list of Basic Rules for Good
Work Habits with materials) Preparation, clean up, and maintenance
of materials are important steps to take.
Preparation requires clearing a space, collecting
materials to be used and putting on appropriate cover-ups if the
work is messy.
Clean-up means putting materials away, wiping up
the area, and doing something with the art produced.
Maintenance of materials means, for example, putting
crayons back where they belong, being sure caps are replaced or
closed, and washing paintbrushes properly.
PROVIDE MATERIALS. Choose a storage
area. This can be a big box (purchased or found), a shelf, or
cabinet space, etc. Start collecting materials (see lists). Other
materials may be substituted for those suggested in a lesson.
Newspaper pages with less print may be used, as a background if
purchased newsprint is not available. Cardboard from boxes may
be used. Be flexible and creative in the use of materials. Most
children love having a fresh box of crayons. The crayons eventually
lose their wrappers and pointed ends. Actually, many creative
crayon lessons require broken and peeled crayons. If you can't
tell purple from black without trying it out, that may be the
time to experiment with using a broken crayon on its side or trying
different colors next to or on top of one another in creating
large shapes.
Some Basic Rules for Good Work Habits with
Materials
General
• The more neatly you work, the easier it is to clean up.
A big mess can be worth it, but you do have to clean up.
Painting
Artists care for their brushes:
• Dip the brush into the paint only halfway up the brush
so the paint doesn't collect at the base of the bristles.
• Don't push the brush into the paper so the bristles get
flattened.
• Wash the brush thoroughly when finished for the day. Use
soap. Rinse well. Fill the brush with water. Bring the bristles
to a point with your fingers and leave the brush to dry with the
bristle end up.
• Keep the water for painting clean. This is why it's good
for the work area to be near a faucet. Yellow paint, for example,
changes color if the water is dirty.
Scissors
• Cut almost to the tip of the scissors, but not all the
way to the tip. Cutting to the tip causes a small horizontal tear.
• Cut a shape by turning the paper, not the scissors.
Glue or Paste
Use as little paste as you can and still have the paper stick.
The paste spreads when you put the piece you're gluing on to the
other piece. If there is too much glue, it will squish out at
the side.
• Art Classes for
Children Ages 4-12 >
• Materials >
• About Kay Alexander
>
• Developmental
Skills >
• At Home
with Art: Art Lessons > |
