Holiday Hints: Art

We created our Holiday Hints to highlight developmentally beneficial tools for young children.

Instead of selecting less meaningful toys this holiday season - or leaving gifts from loved ones to chance - start here!

This list is simply a guide. You definitely don’t need to purchase these specific items to see the benefits. You can find similar options on Amazon, at Target, at resale shops, in family storage, etc.

Art tools!

NOT art kits!

Suggested Rules of Engagement:

Purchase quality art materials instead of quantity.

Treat tools and materials with care.

Use in a developmentally-aware sequence.

Just a few art materials available at a time. Rotate to keep interest and appreciation high.

Art with Awareness:

Painting: finger paint, to larger, thicker paint brushes with simple, primary watercolors, to more variation in color and paint

Drawing: thick wax crayon blocks, to thick crayon sticks, to thick drawing pencils, to regular drawing pencils, to more variation in color

Tearing and Cutting: practice tearing paper with finger tips, before moving on to cutting with straight-edged child-sized scissors, to variation in scissor edge, used with construction paper

Collage: your child can creat collages with the paper they have torn or cut or snippets of fabric, ribbon, yarn, etc.

Clay: consider starting with salt dough (easy recipes online); then, introduce plain, air dry clay in a neutral color to start, with no tools, then introduce tools and painting

Art is an area where we get a bit careless with children. Paper, paint, etc are often presented to children as disposable and rapidly replenished.

Many children also get in a habit of treating art tools roughly, and of not putting them away.

Art materials should be cared for and respected. The first step is raising your expectation bar as the adult in your child’s life. Show thoughtful handling and the importance of order and tidyness with art tools.

I suggest you DON’T consider the following for ages 2 - 6 years:

Sticker books and sets

Paint by numbers

Coloring posters and books

Your child needs to develop into their own creativity.

They also need to develop into their own motor skills and capacity for self-expression.

Keep art-making open-ended. Focus on exploration of materials - tools, colors, textures, forms - and techniques - avoiding anything prescribed as much as possible.

Enjoy!