A series of articles by our guest blogger, Janine Georgiou-Z about the importance of art and creative development in babies, toddlers and children. She will also add some ideas to do art with your toddler at home.
I love the lists of important stuff to do with your kids during every season. I found many kinds online and decided it would be fun to make our own! So together with Connie we compiled a fun list of activities to do this winter. Technically, the winter just begun a few days ago, so here it comes!
Looking for the ideal diet? There is actually no "right answer" for everyone, and dieting has to be a very personalized matter. What works for the woman next door may not work for you and this is especially true where any dieting and weight loss are the focus.
I needed to figure out a way to look and feel good about myself when leaving the house with a total of about 5-7 minutes of prep time! (the amount of time I could keep Aud busy in her crib with a book or stuffed animal). I think I’ve mastered it so I thought I would share with you how I do it!
Santino's sensorial activities have been mostly tactile these days, with a few occasional auditory, visual, and thermic. I haven't been documenting much of these other experiments, but he has learned to discriminate by size, length, weight, loudness, color, even edibility.
In this world of high speed and high expectations it is ever more important that all channels of sharing ones voice be an option. Each person inner voice is expressed in different ways. If I had a desire to express through words but never learned to write I would feel the same way as if I had a need to creatively share my feelings through artwork but never learned how to use the tools to creatively express. I often hear people say "I wish I had learned to paint/draw" as if it is a missing piece of themselves, a piece that had it been accomplished might have served as an avenue of expression and success. All avenues of expression need to be an option. We know creativity inspires a person In other areas of their lives.
We know creating something that we are connected with and we feel Is beautiful, is up-lifting. We know completing anything give us a feeling of success. If you are a parent who wishes you had explored this creative channel, now is the time to explore it with your child. It is never too late. It will be a wonderful way to connect with your child as you share your excitement over new accomplishments in expression. Together you can explore the joyful splattering of paint, the emotion of colour, the delicate or intense use of line and eventually say what your heart needs to say. Allowing this freedom in yourself will open up this channel much sooner in your child, and he/she will not only enjoy this most beautiful of expressive paths, but will hold dear the fact that you sparked the beginnings of it. Enjoy the journey!!
Little ones want to examine everything within their reach. This time of discovery leads the to the tools for expressing their creativity. Placing some paper or whiteboard on their level and some drawing/painting tools ready for use will allow your child to discover his/her ability to leave a mark. The first time my son scratched a pencil on paper he giggled with joy. It was a powerful experience for him to see that he could make something happen from what he was doing.
I say their level for little ones because you can sit comfortably with them while they move with their work and explore. Big chairs and tables can hinder the free flowing experience. Any option that brings the tools to their level will work. Little ones (I mean two and under ) seem to like putting their whole body into it. As children develop an understanding of the use of cause and effect tools and refine their motor skills they will tell us stories using these tools. They can show us their joy and imagination. They can draw from their hearts and mind things they might not yet be able to fully express in words.
The prompting of this gift and supporting your child in the creative process is in my mind as valuable as teaching them to read and write. They are opening a channel of expression that allows them to share more of their heart with others. Describing their artwork to you opens up a new world of discussion. Listening to their sweet little descriptions of their artworks is very uplifting Enjoy!
There might be a few snow days yet but we are in the spring finally and the earth where we stand is starting to breath the fresh breath of life. This is a wonderful time of inspiration. New eyes to the earth will be fascinated by all that moves and grows as the garden and the parks start to come into blossom. Having “Jasper” who just turned one on the first day of spring, I am so excited about what his little eyes will see on our walks. He stares and absorbs the newness, not just of spring but of this new world he has become a part of. Our children can give us new eyes to see the beauty around us.
On good weather days, this is the perfect time to go out and draw
natures beginnings. Just a sketch pad and pencils will suffice for the
trip. This is a good time to go for a walk to the park and sketch what
is left from last fall, that the melting snow reveals. These will be the
before sketches. If the trip is made every Two weeks, especially in
the spring the children can identify developments.
They will observe and document what they discover. By the time summer is here they might have the transition of a few different plants or trees documented in sketches. You could have one small pad for each plant they want to investigate. They could make notes or you could help them make notes at the bottom of the page describing what they see and predicting the next stage of development.
At the age of one Jasper will probably get as much out of me walking along and describing what I see, while encouraging him to touch nature, as those who can begin to sketch it. Enjoy the beautiful gifts this time of year can offer you!
Anticipation and fascination: These are two tools that can inspire creative thought. When children experience some anticipation they get curious and excited, this stimulates the mind and directs it into thoughts and feelings that help develop problem solving skills. Here you see my son and daughter 10 years ago allowing a caterpillar to crawl on them. They are fascinated and they are anticipating the creatures next move while taking in the beauty and feeling of it. They still remember the experience today. Creative and alternative teaching methods seem to reap the greatest rewards. Who doesn’t remember a field trip in elementary school or an excursion with family where they discovered something new and fascinating. When something happens that fascinates a child they express joy or surprise and observe closely. They are taking in this new revelation, this new experience and expanding their thinking and their feelings. These memories tend to become permanent faster than a more mundane experience. Doing anything in a creative way enriches the whole experience.
We can ignite anticipation by suggesting something exciting like building a leaf fort, or making letters out of cookie dough. We can engage in the anticipation while reading stories and pausing to ask “what do you think will happen next?” The response is a wide eyed stare and then suggestions from the mouths of babes.
The fun continues as they engage in the activity and enjoy the creative journey. Fascination arrives as they complete a task and observe your reaction and when they see their cookie letters come out of the oven and they enjoy eating them piece by piece. Some letters will change as they eat them, like a Capital E might become a capital L after two bites. Stories always fascinate especially if we use fun voices and encourage the children to join in here and there.
My sister in England once put a foam letter into coloured goop (corn starch, water and colouring) with foam shapes of objects that started with her chosen letter. Her sons enjoyed pulling the objects out of the goop and sounding them out. This is a creative way to build connections with letters, make memories that last, ignite anticipation and revel in their fascination.
Janine Georgiou-Zeck
Janine’s school of Fine Arts.
Newmarket, On
905-952-0806 www.jzartstudio.com
As parents we think of so many things we would like our children to accomplish and dream of them doing great things. When my teens were little and I would drop them off at school I would say “Do Great Things”.
They knew that I felt that the little, kind and thoughtful things they did each day were “Great Things” to me. We are the teachers of great things. We know when we are presented with a teachable moment. We have the gift of a wonderful connection with our own children. They hang on our words and actions. They hold moments close to their hearts and pull them out of a hat when they need them. When they are toddlers they are retaining memories that are tactile and more of the visual. It’s a time to feed the visual memory by supporting it with tactile connections. It’s a time to share with them how their little hands can be creative and hearts thoughtful at the same time..
Valentines is a time to show your little ones visual ways of expressing what is in their hearts.
The heart itself is a great first shape to teach. Using their own
hands they can form a rough shape of a heart. They can stamp their hand
in finger paint or have you paint the bottom of their hands with a
washable paint. You might want to have a bowl of soapy water and a towel
ready. Once the heart is stamped as many times and in as many colours
as they like, they can fill in the shape.
You could offer them some decorative sticky foam or other embellishments
that are easy to apply to decorate the artwork or card. You can cut
shapes out that they can stick on. Ask them what they would like to say
in words on their gift, and who they would like to give it to. You can
use dots for letters they can trace over or write the words for them.
This will help them to reinforce connections with others through a
creative channel, while learning about a special shape and their
abilities.
Happy Valentine’s Day Everyone!
Janine G-Z . Janine’s
school of Fine Arts. Newmarket, On 905-952-0806 www.jzartstudio.com
In
the 21st Century our children need to be creative and critical
thinkers. We are continuously moving forward into times of new challenges.
Creative thinkers will pave the way as problem solvers and engineers of the
future.
When your child says “ I love to draw” what they are saying is that
that they love to use the creative side of their mind. This is an expression of
one of their many gifts and talents. This gift if nurtured will enrich their
lives in many ways. One way will be to infuse all areas of their education.Creative thought processes will help them explore other subjects with
curiosity and search for creative solutions to problems that arise. Joy in one
area inspires contentment and enriches abilities in another.
The very beginning
of this creative process is the wonderful stories children are told that
inspire their imagination and the mucky stuff we let them touch and explore,
like paint and textured creative materials. These are a feast for the hungry
mind of child. As you know if you feed them well they will flourish as will the
creative spirit that dances with the arts. All one needs to get stared is their
little ones and a few simple materials.
When my teens were toddlers I threw a huge
sheet of paper on the kitchen floor, and had 6 colours of paint at hand, as
well as a bucket of soapy water and some towels. We had a blast. The paper became
a beautiful mural of hands and feet and I think a nose or two.lol. I know it’s
not an everyday event especially with a busy household, but trust me it is one of
those events that are never forgotten, for the pure creative fun of it. Take
photos and stick the poster on the ceiling so they can look up at it while
lying on the floor. Even if it’s just for little while. Of course you want to
wait until it dries.
These moments will inspire future creative moments in both
you and your children. Get messy and have fun!
Janine G-Z . Janine’s
school of Fine Arts. Newmarket, On 905-952-0806 www.jzartstudio.com
Here is a simple set of activities I like to offer Santino. It is
something inexpensive, actually more like free, very simple to do,
although promoting hand-eye coordination, attention, concentration, and a
whole bunch of other skills.
1.
I divided a sheet of paper in 2 halves. I covered the bottom half with a
greenish blue waves, and the top with a darker blue color. I then cut
out a few simple fish shapes, a boat shape, a few stars and a moon. I
then let Santino sort these shapes and put them in their place. He was
phenomenal! He put everything in the right place, except for the moon,
which he wasn't sure. But I showed him, and now he knows!
2.
Here is another take on the same idea. I drew a Christmas tree, and
Santa without a hat, mittens or a sack of presents. While I was drawing
it, Santino got nervous about Santa's hat, and immediately noticed "no
hat!". Then I drew and cut out a hat for Santa, a pair of mittens and
the sack. I also cut out a few decorations for the tree.
Santino
immediately put the hat on Santa, being very careful not to put it over
his eyes, then he put mittens, and stumbled upon the sack. I told him
that the sack goes in Santa's hands, so he tried to arrange it in the
hands, but wasn't sure how. After I showed him, he went on to decorate
the tree.
Santino loves painting, holding a paint brush and mixing the colors.
Well, for now he mixes all the colors together, until they turn brown,
and then he paints careful stripes here and there, swooshes, calling
them dinosaurs and fire trucks.
I wanted to channel his love for painting and help him make a present for nonna Lucy for her birthday.
I
got a painters tape, using it to mask the picture. I taped a few strips
in the middle of a water color paper sheet. I then drew a flower over
the tape with a pencil. Then, using a sharp x-acto knife, i cut off the
tape, leaving only the shape. It is possible to do, just need to be
careful and don't rush.
Then
I mixed up some water colors for Santino. To avoid him mixing up all
colors into one brown, I gave him colors one by one, blue, then yellow,
then red. The colors mixed beautifully on the paper.
Then
I let the picture dry, and carefully removed the tape. It stuck a bit
too much to the paper, but I removed it slowly. Next time I would have
to use a real masking tape. After the tape was removed, the white flower
shape was revealed. Looked very warm and tender.
I signed it "2012, From Santino, To Nonna Lucy" and put it inside a simple frame. Nonna liked her present.
When Jonathan turned 6 months old and started to crawl, I
really started to feel the "need" for some sort of "play
room" for him.I was tired of my
entire house being a play zone.Tired
all the nicks on the walls, things getting damaged, baby-proofing to the 9's
and mostly not having a space for him to be a KID and not always have to tidy
up cause people may come to the door and see a demolition zone!We had bins in every room of toys.What was once our "new home";
professionally decorated to our likes; had now turned into a child's den. It was time to move to renovate!
Now, I totally understand that everyone's situation is
different and not everyone has the ability to just randomly create a new
"space" in their home.For us,
we had an unfinished basement with some ideas in the back of our mind to someday
renovate it.Apparently now was the time! If you are
considering renovating your basement too or another room in your home to create
a play room, or for my homeschooling friends - if you are looking for "school"
room ideas OR if you even just want to make your regular home space a little
more "kid friendly"; here are some things that we did that we are
finding is working great!In fact, I am
writing this article as a response to a request from others parents who have
been to our home for play dates :)
THE ZONES:our new play area consists of different
areas or "zones" as I call them.
The Kitchen
When Jonathan first took a liking to "kitchen
play"; we just didn't have the space or money to invest in one of those
really neat / large kitchen play seats.So instead we just got this little table top mini kitchen :)I like how it takes up less space and is
easily portable / removable.We have a
ton of "play food" and kitchen items.I took a bunch of plastic kids tableware out of our own kitchen and gave
jonathan his own shopping bag, chef's hat and apron to finish off the look
jonathan cooks in his "kitchen". This particular table top one was from Costco.
Jonathan sets the table for baby and puppy. This table couples as as art table.
The Chalk Wall
These are hugely popular.You can buy chalk board paint at most big box building stores
today.We got this one from Home
Depot (http://www.homedepot.ca/product/chalkboard-paint-black-887ml/980042).Note that it doesn't have to be
black!you can get it made in any colour
you choose.Also -- there is a magnetic
base that you can put on as well if you'd like to also have a huge magnet board
*although I hear it doesn't work too great.**be sure your walls are smooth or sand them.And great ready to do at least 3 coats
:)To clean our board / wall, we just
use a wet microfiber cleaning cloth.If
you are worried about "chalk dust", there is really cool new dustless
chalk (Crayola) and chalk paint.But,
once again, remember that this is a kids room so a little chalk mess is not a problem
in a designated kids play area.Id caution
more about doing something like this in a bedroom.....
Arts and crafts were always hugely important to me!So we have designated bins and bins of craft
supplies alone.Everything has its own
place and is labelled.I find if
everything has a proper spot and you teach your kids to respect their toys, it's
not a problem to have it all out like this.Jonathan is especially good at knowing that colouring happens only on
the paper and that markers need their lids back on them.Only 1 or 2 play doh colours are allowed to
be opened at a time (even though I think we have a lifetime supply of play doh
in our house!)
**These go on sale all the time. Reg $69.99 but I only paid $35 for mine :)
The Play Area
Really this is everywhere, but I do have those foam mats on
the floor in designated areas for "floor play."Once again; every toy has a spot or bin that
it goes it.
You'll notice in our home (as part of our homeschooling
philosophy); we try to have as little "noisy" toys as possible.In addition, where possible I try to get wood
or cloth toys.The less plastic the better!
4) books*note that
we actually have a children's library in our home that could rival a public
library :)it is not located in our new
basement play area as I find too many books in one place at any time leads to less
appreciation and inattentiveness.Instead, we have 1 bin of books in the play area and 1 in our bedroom
(that I pre-select based on age appropriateness, the time of year i.e. if a
holiday is around the corner, what we are learning i.e. colours, numbers, etc.,
our interests at the time i.e. trains, etc.)
The Reading Nook
Further to above, we have what I like to call a reading nook
under our staircase.It was an odd shape
/ space to fill so I thought it would make a great place to throw a bunch of
pillows down for quiet time and reading.This can easily be done anywhere with some foam floor mats and random
pillows.**I have future plans to add a
curtain around this area to also couple this as a hide-out / fort area some
day.
The Media Area
Yes - this basically means that we have a TV in our play
room. But before I get ahead of myself let's just say that this TV is actually
not really for the kids :)We figured
if we were going to finish the basement, we should at least put a sofa down
there and a TV in case mom and dad ever wanted to hide out down there :)I can see this being of more use in the
years to come.We have video games hooked
up to this tv so we can do our Wii Fit in this space, etc.jonathan also has age appropriate video games
that he is allowed to play on occasion
As a homeschooling family, our needs may be a little
different in terms of organizing our day.Where possible, I try to not "model" a school classroom
environment as this is not really what I want to create.Instead, I model it around functionality and organization;
mainly for my sake as the "teacher".
~ The Week Wall
These are little pockets attached to the wall of what we are
going to be doing "school wise" each day of the week.This could be worksheets from our curriculum as
well as a multitude of supplemental resources I use
~ The Word Wall
This is what Jonathan is currently working on.Right now its letter recognition, number
recognition, name recognition and his colours.Right now he knows his letters A-Z, numbers 1-20 and all his primary
colours. My goal for this year is for him to recognise each of them at random,
know his letter sounds and be able to write his name.Wish us luck!
~ Mommy's Desk
This is my "cube" of resources and materials for homeschooling.Jonathan really doesn't touch or play with
these items (unless he chooses to grab his flash cards off the shelf for some
extra practise of course;)
