Do you want to bring more art into the lives of your children? Don’t know where to start? As parents and/or educators, we often don’t feel like we have the time to incorporate children’s art into our busy schedules or it just feels overwhelming. The thing is, art is important to development. Art appreciation can help expand your children’s minds and develop intelligence and creative expression. I can help you get started by incorporating art appreciation into your homes and lesson plans. Art appreciation will tap into you and your children’s creativity in a natural way. Below you can find seven great, easy ways to raise children who appreciate the arts and will naturally be more drawn to the creative.

1. Exposure

Show them art! This may seem like a no-brainer but seriously, most parents and/or teachers do not expose their young learners to art very often. We tell them to color a picture, to paste this here or cut that there, but we don’t often think about how these art projects connect to the art world. Show your children some art! You don’t even need to know the artist or the style, etc., but you will obviously win some “cool points” if you do! Take them to an art museum, point art out when shopping, look at illustrations together in a book. Watch a play or performance together. Search online for art that has subject matter they are interested in. Art is EVERYWHERE! Be ready to point it out, show them!

2. Discussion

When you DO show them art, talk about it! What do you think the artist was thinking about? What do you like about it? Would you have done anything differently? Which colors do you see? What is the overall mood of the piece? Ask them open-ended questions and tell them your thoughts as well. When they see you appreciating the art, they will develop a curiosity that might otherwise lie dormant.

3. Teach Basic Concepts

Teach your kids the basics. No, you do not need to be an art teacher to teach art basics. Quick art lesson for you to expand on: The primary colors are Red, Yellow, and Blue. They make all the other colors! Can I just tell you; this simple concept is fascinating to children! Show them how to mix the primary colors to make the other colors. See my video above for a fun clay color mixing activity that we have done in our Summer Art Class!

Besides color, other basic concepts include line (straight, curvy, horizontal, vertical, etc.), shapes, texture (fuzzy, curly, smooth, you get the idea!) You do not need to know how to draw or even much about art to help your children see the parts that make a great masterpiece. Break it down for them in simple concepts they understand. Break it down to the basics.

4. Create Opportunities

Give your children opportunities to create. Having an art station has been wonderful for both my children at home and my children in the classroom. Scrap paper, crayons, markers, watercolors… whatever you have and feel comfortable with for their age level, have them available. Your child may not be inclined to do art on their own, but they certainly won’t gravitate towards it if it is not accessible. Sit and create with them. Show them that no matter your artistic skills, you can create and have fun doing it. Having time to make open-ended, no rules art is great for child development and creativity. Children will appreciate art when they are contributing to the art world.

5. Community

Surround them with other young artists. Making and creating can be more fun in groups! There are many options for creating an art community. Here are a few ideas that may be available in your area:

• After school art clubs (Look into our ArtStart Program here if you are local!)
• Children’s art classes or clubs taught by local art teachers (Like our ArtStart classes here in Myrtle Beach!)
• Home Depot children’s workshops on Saturday mornings
• Michael’s craft store children’s events and classes
• Many art museums host children’s art project events

If you want art on a budget or just want to bring the art party to your home, here are a few art-at-home ideas:

• Parents: When neighborhood kids are over, put out sidewalk chalk. Teachers: bring sidewalk chalk to the playground!
• Have art play dates! Invite your children’s friends over with an art project in mind. (I will be posting ideas here on ArtStart!)
• Find other parents who are interested and rotate houses once a week or once a month. Your children will enjoy group art each rotation and you will only be responsible for the ones you host.

6. Embrace the Process

For the moms and teachers out there who are all about the clean and tidy: LET THEM GET MESSY! I know, I know, it can be tough to deal with an art mess. If you do have a group of kids, messy projects can be done one at a time to reduce mess, however, if you can embrace the mess and enjoy the moment, it will be SO FUN for your kids! If a parent or teacher is stressing about mess, the kids will feel it. They may hold back or stress themselves. For some of us, this can be a hard hurdle but try baby steps. Experiment with what your children can handle and observe them carefully. If you are working with a toddler, let them paint in just their diaper and head to the bath right after. If you have older kids, keep smocks or old clothes on hand so they are not ruining nice clothes. Take the mess outside when you can! Where there is a will, there is a way! Some of my fondest memories with my own children are paint parties on a drop cloth covered kitchen floor or back porch family art projects. Even if they do not grow up to be artists, they will learn to appreciate the memories and lessons learned over art.

7. Give Credit to the Creator

Ok, one more tip: Take every opportunity to teach about God’s creations. Our world is the most beautiful piece of art, and it was made for us! When we take the time to stop and appreciate the creations around us, made for us by the Master Creator himself, we tap into a spiritual art appreciation that enriches our lives. Help your children make the connection that when we are creating, we are tapping into the divine within ourselves.

I hope these tips will help you incorporate more art into the lives of your children. Please leave a comment to let me know which tips you use and how art has enriched your lives!