IMPORTANCE OF STARTING ART AND CRAFT AT AN EARLY AGE
If you know the importance of starting art and craft at an early age, you would have started from day one. Don’t worry, its never too late.
Creativity is a God-given gift—but it has to be polished and developed. Most psychologists accept that a toddler’s development is partly influenced by the abilities she is born with and partly by the way she is raised at home.
The way a toddler develops is a mixture of her innate abilities that were present at birth and her upbringing. It’s the delicate interaction between both of these influences that counts.
Don’t leave it all to chance in the hope that your toddler’s natural talents will shine through; and don’t have unrealistically high expectations of her, in the belief that she can achieve anything as long as she receives the right sort of stimulation.
Tailor your parental input to your child’s personality and aptitude. Parents who are well educated themselves usually place a high value on early stimulation and therefore provide a full program of activities for their toddler. As a result of this input, their child tends to develop at a faster rate. This means the child has more chances of developing creative and artistic skills at a faster pace.
If your toddler is old enough to hold a crayon or a marker, she is old enough for her official start in art.
Safety first:
You’ll have to make sure that all her art supplies are non-toxic—especially because she’s likely to put whatever she’s scribbling in her mouth.
Supervise:
To make sure that she doesn’t use your home as a canvas, watch her while she creates. Chunky crayons, markers and chalk will be easier for her tiny hands to grasp and maneuver than slim ones, and when it comes to crayons and chalk, they’ll be harder to break. Keep lots of newspaper for her to scribble on—so that your walls and floor are kept clean.
Don’t ever encourage your child to scribble on the walls, not ever for once. If you allow her to do once, she tends to do so, every time. It might become a hectic chore for you to stop her.
PROGRESS:
12—15 months:
Initially your child’s scribbles will be just a study in pleasure rather than technique.
15—18 months:
Your child will work with more intent and purpose. She’ll have developed more precise, fine motor skills which become refined midway through the second year. You’ll see distinct blocks of color, stronger marks and more definite figures.
18—24 months:
Your child’s figures are more recognizable. To her every stroke represents something. The triangles are hills, the small squares are huts, the green lines are trees. To nurture the process and to reduce frustration, applaud her.
A child also learns by watching you. If you are rolling out chapattis, gives your child a little piece of dough so that she can roll out with her hand.
Children learn a lot of things; I learnt to make kites by watching my brother; I learnt how to shade by rubbing with paper when trying to sketch—by watching my father. Give your child also several chances to learn from your simple daily activities.
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