The Importance of Art and Self-Expression in Toddlers

The Importance of Art and Self-Expression in Toddlers

The toddler years are full of discovery for a child. Not only is she learning about the world around her, she’s also learning about herself.

One of the most discussed aspects of toddlerhood is how children learn to use words to convey their thoughts and feelings. But children also learn to express themselves in other ways during the early years.

One of the most intriguing ways that youngsters express themselves is through art. If you hand a young child a crayon and a piece of paper, she will almost certainly start scribbling away contentedly. While this may not look like art to an adult, it’s fascinating to young minds.

Toddlers are not consciously aware of color co-ordination and spatial relationships. But art can give them a sense of these things. And this is only the beginning.

Some of the many benefits of art for toddlers include:

* Art boosts a child’s confidence. Even monochromatic scribbles on a piece of paper give kids a sense of accomplishment, because they've created something that wasn’t there before. And as they progress toward using multiple colors and forming recognizable shapes, they gain even more confidence.

* Artistic activities are soothing. Being a toddler can be frustrating, and participating in a quiet activity provides a chance to calm down. Art takes a child’s mind off of the source of frustration and channels it into something enjoyable and productive.

* Art lengthens a child’s attention span. The simple act of putting crayon to paper or squeezing a ball of clay requires a child to pay attention to what she’s doing. And while toddlers tend to spend most of their waking hours on the run, art can keep them sitting still for several minutes at a time. As their skills develop, so will their attention spans.

* Art builds motor skills. Holding a crayon, finger painting, squeezing and flattening clay or play dough, and gluing shapes onto paper all require kids to use their hand muscles in different ways. Such activities also promote hand-eye coordination.

* Creative activities promote abstract thinking. When a child takes an idea and puts it on paper or models it in play dough, she is creating a physical representation of something that exists in her mind. Learning to use this type of thinking early will help your child learn more efficiently throughout life.

Self-expression is a critical part of every child’s development. Speech can help toddlers convey what they’re thinking and feeling, but it can hardly keep up with their constantly evolving brains.

Art provides another much-needed outlet for budding young minds, and at the same time it teaches important skills. It’s also lots of fun for them. With all of these benefits, it’s easy to see why encouraging toddlers to be artistic is so important.

101 Kid Summer Activities

Kid Tested Activities to keep them Happy, Engaged, and Entertained

Just take a look at some of the great benefits:

• 101 separate and distinct activities means that you always have something fun to do with your kids
• Most activities are based on objects you already have at home
• Active and engaged children are too busy to look for trouble
• Inspirational and imaginative activities get the kids off the couch and away from the T.V.
• Active kids are less likely to have weight problems, develop into more active adults, and learn to lead healthier lives
• Less time in front of the television lets kids use their imaginations, gives them the capacity to think creatively, and helps them develop better problem solving abilities
• Simple activities require little, if any, preparation so you can pick an activity and do it on the spur of the moment
• Activities that easily adjust to virtually any age or ability means you can use this resource for years to come!

Instant access -- you can begin using these activities right now!

Go to 101 Kid Summer Activities now, you will not be sorry!

The Importance of Art for Finger and Hand Muscles

The Importance of Art for Finger and Hand Muscles

Kids love art because it gives them opportunities for self-expression and a sense of accomplishment.

Parents love it when their kids create art because it keeps them quietly and productively occupied.

Little thought is usually given to the physical benefits of art, but they are significant.

It’s easy to see how art promotes hand-eye coordination. The simple act of putting crayon or pencil to paper and scribbling requires the hands and eyes to work together. Once that’s mastered, the child can take it a step further to begin to form lines and shapes.

Another important benefit of art involves the development of muscles in the hands and fingers. If you think about it, this makes as much sense as the relationship between art and hand-eye coordination.

Going back to the drawing example, a child must learn to properly hold a crayon in order to successfully use it. Doing so requires him to use specific muscles in the hand that may have previously been rarely utilized. These are the same muscles that he will use later in life to perform everyday tasks such as writing.

Drawing isn’t the only type of art that develops muscles in the hands and fingers. Virtually every type of visual art offers such benefits in one way or another. Finger painting, for instance, requires controlled movement of the fingers. Painting with a paintbrush requires kids to grip in a different manner than that used when drawing or writing. And modeling clay or play dough involves squeezing, mashing and rolling.

Using scissors is another activity that is great for building muscles in the hands. The motions required to open and close the scissors work the hand in ways that few other activities do.

Children can also build important muscles by beading. Using chenille stems and large beads makes it easy enough for small hands without compromising the benefits of the activity.

Even music can help develop hand and finger muscles. The most obvious example is playing the piano. The motions used to strike the keys directly correlate with those used in typing, which is an important skill later in life. Wind instruments also require certain hand motions. Even gripping drumsticks offers unique benefits.

Art in any form provides more benefits for young children than most of us realize. It’s good in a number of ways for cognitive and emotional development. And those simple tasks that we take for granted can help children build a good foundation for skills that they will use in coming years.

From a simple pen and paper drawing to an intricate clay figurine, any art project can provide opportunities for kids to use hand and finger muscles in ways that they may not have used them before.

Now for something that will be invaluable during the summer:

101 Kid Summer Activities

Kid Tested Activities to keep them Happy, Engaged, and Entertained

Just take a look at some of the great benefits:

• 101 separate and distinct activities means that you always have something fun to do with your kids
• Most activities are based on objects you already have at home
• Active and engaged children are too busy to look for trouble
• Inspirational and imaginative activities get the kids off the couch and away from the T.V.
• Active kids are less likely to have weight problems, develop into more active adults, and learn to lead healthier lives
• Less time in front of the television lets kids use their imaginations, gives them the capacity to think creatively, and helps them develop better problem solving abilities
• Simple activities require little, if any, preparation so you can pick an activity and do it on the spur of the moment
• Activities that easily adjust to virtually any age or ability means you can use this resource for years to come!
• Instant access -- you can begin using these activities right now!

Go to 101 Kid Summer Activities now, you will not be sorry!

Hot Weather Fun: Kids Summer Crafts

Hot Weather Fun: Kids Summer Crafts

When boredom looms and the weather's hot, get everyone involved in kids summer crafts. Kids are always excited to be free from the school routine when they are let out for summer break, but it isn't long until they start wondering what to do. Kids' summer crafts will keep them occupied and maybe even teach them a thing or two.

1. Use found objects:

In summer, crafts for kids can involve found objects, like seed pods, grasses, and similar objects. Let kids create nature collection collages by gluing these items to a stiff piece of cardboard.

Help them spray paint some of the findings with silver or gold paint. Alternatively, they might like to glue glitter to some of the findings. Perhaps they would also enjoy collecting wild flower seed heads and creating dried flower arrangements. Arrange the bouquet in a homemade vase.

2. Make a vase using a tin:

A vase for summer bouquets, fresh or dried, is another craft that naturally fits into the kids summer crafts category. A simple vase can be made from a tin can. Soup cans work particularly well because they are smooth on the outside and rather narrow.

Be sure to file off any sharp spurs on the inside opening. Start the work of art by cutting a piece of construction paper or other colored paper to fit around the sides of the can. This will be glued to the outside of the can, but first it needs to be decorated.

The vase cover can be decorated in many ways. The child can draw a summer scene on the paper and then decorate it with glued on glitter or small stickers of summer things.

Another idea is for the child to write their name in large letters, and glue beans, seeds, or glitter to the letters. Let all glue dry before attaching the paper to the outside of the can. Add water and fresh flowers or leave dry for dry flowers.

You can also use the can for a trinket container or a place to put pens, pencils, and markers. To make them real summer crafts for kids, glue grass seed heads and found seed pods to the paper in a decorative way.

Make a vase using a jar:

Jar vases make good summer crafts for kids, too. Canning jars make particularly cute vases, but any cast off mayonnaise, pickle, or other jar, even plastic ones, can work, too.

To make a jar into a vase it first needs to be sparkling clean. Kids love getting wet in the summer, so let them roll up their sleeves (or put on a bathing suit!) and have fun splashing at the sink while "washing dishes."

This whole "washing dishes" can really keep them busy for quite a while. Make sure you cover the floor because a lot of water will land on the floor!

My granddaughter loved "helping" with the dishes when she was little. We could keep her busy for hours this way!

When the jar is clean and dry, tie an attractive ribbon around the opening. If desired, decorate the outside of the jar with glued on beads and buttons.

Kids summer crafts will provide some cute decorations around the home and keep the kids from being bored. This summer, crafts for kids should be at the top of every parent's To Do list!

To make things easy for you, have a look at 101 Kids Summer Activities. You will find lots of crafts and activities in it to keep the kids busy this summer.

101 Kid Summer Activities

Kid Tested Activities to keep them Happy, Engaged, and Entertained

Just take a look at some of the great benefits:

• 101 separate and distinct activities means that you always have something fun to do with your kids
• Most activities are based on objects you already have at home
• Active and engaged children are too busy to look for trouble
• Inspirational and imaginative activities get the kids off the couch and away from the T.V.
• Active kids are less likely to have weight problems, develop into more active adults, and learn to lead healthier lives
• Less time in front of the television lets kids use their imaginations, gives them the capacity to think creatively, and helps them develop better problem solving abilities
• Simple activities require little, if any, preparation so you can pick an activity and do it on the spur of the moment
• Activities that easily adjust to virtually any age or ability means you can use this resource for years to come!
• Instant access -- you can begin using these activities right now!

Go to 101 Kid Summer Activities now, you will not be sorry!