Remember when your kids (or even you) would come home from school with a finished art project? No matter how high the grade on a math exam, it could never match the pride and excitement of a custom Mother’s Day card or a baking soda volcano. Having it displayed on a shelf or the fridge was the childhood equivalent of opening at the Met.
But as kids advance in school, art is often swept aside in favor of more “practical” subjects. Just as gym has fallen by the wayside, so too has creative exercise. If you’re looking for ways to bring art back, here are some suggestions.
Prioritize creativity. In this get-it-done world, it’s easy to forget that creativity is just as important a life skill as organization, patience, and learning how to thumb-type. And sometimes we need to work a bit to bring it out. One way educators do this is through something called “reverse thinking.” It works like this: “Everyone is doing it this way, so what would happen if you did the opposite?” Try prodding your kids to think like that.
Organize an Art Night. Go to your local art-supply store and buy a bunch of cheap canvases, brushes, and paints. Then have everyone in the family (that means you, Dad, and maybe even any talented pets) play Picasso. Frame your masterpieces and plan a gallery showing at the next family birthday party or even yard sale.
Think broadly. Art isn’t just brushstrokes and clay. Encourage your kids to design an iPhone app, film a YouTube video, or create a comic book. “Found art” is another option. A friend of ours encouraged her kids to scavenge interesting tidbits during their vacation and make a memory mosaic. (She kept the $20 bill her daughter found, though.)
Inspire them. Find the nearest museum of contemporary art. Why contemporary art? Because it’s an interpretation of their world and, therefore, it’ll have a better chance of speaking to them than anything from the 12th century.
Find an art mentor. If there’s a friend or family member who has a creative job or hobby, ask if your child can shadow them for an afternoon.
Praise the effort. Psychologists say it’s more beneficial to compliment the work a child puts into a project than the actual results. Praising things like persistence and imagination can help boost their confidence and love of learning.
And if all else fails, go “old school” and buy ’em a box of Crayola crayons (120 count, of course). No one can resist opening a fresh pack and putting those pointy tips to use. In fact, buy a box for yourself while you’re at it. It’ll make you feel like a kid again.
Comments from Members
I color alot with my kids...And of course PRAISE is a big thing with my kids art. (How could you not praise a 2 1/2 yr. olds art work.?) They love it when I color with them. It is a great way to spend time together. We also play with modeling clay. The air dry clay is great for kids also. Art projects are really great when we can't go outside. Thanks for the article.Bronda
I love my kids artwork they create in and out of the house. One of the best ways I show my appreciation for their efforts is having a special kids art gallery. The kids and I created art holders that lead down the stairs to our finished basement. As the kids finish a new project, they display it on one of the art holders. I also had been looking for art for my family room. I decided, since the budget was tight,to mat & frame some of their work, and now it hangs proudly by our family room fireplace. They love pointing out all their artwork to guests at our home.
Magnets specially made for the arts of my children, kinda still get those arts still at the older ages too. Names instilled into magnets hung my girls atrs and proud papers. And still do today, and on those blah boring wintery days there will be more arts again. Just dig out the old box of scrap artsy stuff and away they go. Again the fridge is full of beauty. Everyone can enjoy the plentiful arts and labor of our youth once again. Love it! Christina
My son is only 7 mths. old. I can't wait for fridge art!
I had a few years without the fridge art, my kitchen was a beautiful showcase when my children became older. But you know in my eyes something was missing, the kitchen looked like a page out of a magazine, but without life. Today I am proud to say that my grand children have taken over their parents job of decorating my fridge and bringing new life to my kitchen. I enjoy their artwork and hope I am still here so great grandchildren will also get to decorate my fridge. OH and some of the neighbor children also hang their handiworks on my fridge.
When I travel, I buy magnets that name the city I went to and/or one of our names. Then, I put them on the refrigerator. It makes a plain refrigerator really colorful!
A cute idea I saw for kid art is to hang a nice width wired ribbon from the wall and use painted clothespins decorated with embellishments or name tags, to hang the art on the ribbon- instant wall art using your kids art!
I love my fridge art, and my all over the kitchen and house art. It's everywhere, I don't think I could have it any other way. One of the coolest ideas I have ever seen is to take pictures of their artwork and make a photo-book out of it. That way the pictures don't get ruined and you have the memory forever in a nice keepsake book.
I love to see and keep art work that my sons have done. I actually have framed their art work. Have the art work matted and framed....wonderful and they have such a wonderful sense of pride to see their artwork hanging around the house.
I loved this article! Thank you! :) And I have crayons on my desk for me already!!! :)
The kids and I finger paint alot. One of my favorites. My daughter is in second grade and they get a WOW ( word of the week ) every week. We like to use the finger paint to make a picture of what that word means. My fridge looks like an art gallery.
ok, but what do you ladies do with years of fridge art?? I have a box to put it in, but the 4 foot tall penguin isn't fitting! I actually have started taking pictures of my kids with their masterpieces then we just print up the pic add a date and description lable and it goes in the keepsake box.
Not only do I have fridge art but my fridge is my photo album. I have 25 to 35 family photos at a time all over my fridge. Every time I go into the fridge I look at the fun times I have had recently with my family. It's a great wy to enjoy all your photos and smile at the great times you share with your family. Anytime a girlfriend comes over I can't pry her away from my fridge!!
When the kids were younger their art work would be posted on the fridge for all to enjoy and of course we would spread the wealth to Grandma's house every time we would visit, or she would visit, no one would ever leave empty handed. But now that they are in school and making different kinds of art projects, I started to frame their art and it is every where in the house. From the halls, to their bathroom, and our master bedroom. Our son made a really cool asian inspired rice drawing, so that is framed and in our room, that is our focal point for our new redesign, when we get to it, who would have thought our 9 year old would have the inspiration piece for our new room make-over. No only is their art work budget friendly but it is priceless at the same time.
