Preschool Art: Why Children Need a Variety

When it comes to preschool art, getting out the crayons is never enough. Preschoolers want markers, chalk, paint, and play dough. It seems the messier it is, the more appealing it is to create with! And making a mess is just what they do.

When young children get up from creating their masterpiece, it’s a disaster, often not resulting in something that we can keep! So why shouldn’t we just stick to the crayons? Why is it important for our kids to make a mess?

While crayons certainly have their place, making a mess and exploring a variety of media actually helps children develop skills from language development to fine motor skills, even developing intellectual skills. This means that preschool art helps your child grow and learn in many different ways!

As parents, we all want the drawings we can hang on our refrigerator. We enjoy showing off what our child has created, maybe even saving it as a memento to look back at later. But as fun as those pictures are to have, one of the most important lessons about preschool art is that it is more about the experience than the end result! A great art experience may not result in a lasting finished product.

Think about when your child scribbles with chalk on the driveway; this isn’t something that you can keep, it’s something that your child experiences before it gets washed away forever. But while coloring on that sidewalk or driveway, your child is strengthening their fingers, preparing them for a mature grip with to use a pencil, getting their hands strong enough to write letters and numbers.

They are using their body to squat, balance, and crawl around while drawing, strengthening their large body muscles to prepare them for bigger movements such as hopping, skipping, and jumping. They are even using pre-math skills as they section things out in areas of the sidewalk, draw beginning shapes, and practice writing numbers. Who knew that scribbling on the sidewalk could have your child developing so much?

Just like chalk, paints and play dough can be a fun way for children to strengthen their mind and their muscles. By squeezing paint and play dough between their fingers and using their hands to spread them around and squash them down, they are learning about problem solving, cause and effect, and textures, while building up those finger muscles.

As they get a little older, using various size brushes and cookie cutters adds another dimension to their fun, while learning to use their fingers and hands with more control and purpose. Adding safety scissors to play dough is a great way for children to learn to cut, helping them learn to manipulate the scissors as they cut the play dough apart.

Preschool art isn’t just for the big kids…even the littlest artist can have fun! Once your child is over six months or so, there are safe ways for them to explore with art as well! Cookie sheets with pudding, yogurt, or even a little bit of water can be fun for babies to explore with proper supervision. Add a drop or two of food coloring to change up the experience for them.

Home made play dough is always a favorite, as you can add color, texture, and even scents to it to make every experience new and exciting. Just giving them a bit to squeeze and squish gives them the opportunity to feel and explore how it changes in their hands. Even boiling a handful of noodles in colored water and letting them explore the texture can be fun.

And if you put a piece of paper in front of them and let them drag the wet, colored noodles across it, they can create a piece of art for you that is sure to be refrigerator-worthy! There is no end to the creative ways that you can let your child experience preschool art.

Whether it’s cutting up play dough or painting with yogurt, children love to feel and explore different textures, and we know they should, because it helps them develop in so many ways! From pre-math skills to emerging language skills to problem-solving skills, your child will learn and grow, while having tons of fun. And you’ll find yourself exploring right along with them, enjoying every new experience alongside your child…getting messy and having fun together!

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