A Family's Role in Developing Visual Arts Experiences at Home
Families must be kept informed of art activities taking place in the classroom in order to maintain the artistic efforts of their child. At home artistic activities stimulate children to talk about classroom experiences at home and encourage parent participation in their learning. How can families support children's emerging creativity?
- Give children extended, unhurried time to explore and do their best work. Creativity does not follow the clock.
- Provide a place for children to leave unfinished work to continue the next day and a space that inspires them to do their best work.
- Organize a collection of resource materials, including bought material, found materials, and recycled materials such as buttons, stones, shells, beads, play dough.
- Caregivers must give themselves permission to try out artistic activities - even when they have not had formal art lessons. It is through encouragement, risk taking, and acceptance of mistakes that parents can gain confidence in their own artistic self-expression. Your attitude, as a family member, will impact the artistic attitude of the children (Edward& Springate, 1995).
Excerpt from Creative Arts: A Process Approach for Teachers and Children, by L.C. Edwards, 2006 edition, p. 164.
© 2006, Merrill, an imprint of Pearson Education Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Take Action
- this article with friends and family.
- Have a question about Art? Ask it here.
- Publish your work on education.com.
