Artists
Are Problem SolversChildren are natural problem-solvers.
Babies are learning to think like artists when they look at your loving face. Toddlers are making sense of the world when they examine pictures in a book. Preschoolers solve artistic problems when they grip a crayon or marker in their fingers. These are some of the ways you can support imaginative explorations, at every age level. Encourage children to figure out for themselves how to explore art materials. Provide a variety of materials so they can imagine, problem solve, and invent creations.
Experiment and discover.
With any new art material or technique, children benefit from finding
out on their own. They want to know how the finger paint feels or what
they can do with a lump of clay. Provide the basic art materials first,
such as large blank paper and crayons or markers, or Crayola dough
and a smooth surface. Urge children to use trial and error and see what
happens as they use their imaginations. Keep children focused on how the
art materials work (not on what they can make). Expand their vocabularies
by describing what they are doing, and what happens as they experiment.
Talk about earlier, related experiences.
If children have used an art material before, talk with them about what
they remember. How did they use it? What happened? What worked? What didn't?
What would they like to try now? Ask questions that stimulate children
to really think about their answers!
Observe
and encourage.
Watch how children approach a material. Is a child timid, confident, or
curious? Encourage children to refine skills they are pretty good at,
so they gain confidence and can spread their wings. What a great achievement
when children can control their fingers well enough to color inside shapes
they draw!
Experiment and expand horizons.
Urge children to experiment with new ideas, too. Introduce new materials,
such as Crayola Color Wonder™, to expand their horizons. Try
new colors, papers, and techniques.
Explore
solutions.
Sometimes children encounter an artistic problem, such as how to get a
tower of little boxes to stand up. Ask them to describe what they are
trying to do. What have they already tried? What other solutions could
they check out? Have they thought of…? Offer a few possibilities if necessary,
but help them come to their own solution. Suggest or demonstrate a variation,
or a new technique, if children are stuck. Sometimes suggest an idea even
if you aren't sure it will work. Your child may invent something and come
up with a better solution.
Test out ideas.
The magical moments in creating art are the experimenting - doing and
redoing. Sometimes artists test out ideas methodically, like scientists.
Sometimes ideas are tried with the focus on design or function, like an
architect. Other times the exploration is the joy. Children find such
pleasure in stretching their thinking skills as they explore the arts!
