Sometimes a good way to distract your kids from going bonkers inside on a cold or rainy day is to just cover the table with paper and give them some art supplies.
I recommend leaving the paper on the table as long as possible to see what art your kids create. Our art session lasted over two days! Yep, we left the paper on for two days. I turned the paper around on the second day so he could reach the blank spaces on the wall side of the paper.
MORE: See how we stock our art cabinet with basic, but fun supplies.
Color mixing is always a great way to encourage open-ended art. You can even squeeze the paint directly on the paper. Alternatively, reuse take out containers as paint trays for easy clean-up.
Make sure to include a variety of art materials like pastels and crayons. My son broke all the oil pastels in half so he could "share" them with me. How nice.
It doesn't matter if all your child wants to do is make blobs and scribbles. If they don't want to create representational art, don't pressure them. This is a process art project.
Ask open-ended questions like, "Tell me about this." Or, make observations like, "The blue and black are swirling together." You will be surprised at how your child's imagination fills in the gaps for you.
MORE: Art Projects that Use a Big Roll of Paper
Mom, M.Ed. says
Just found Kiddo's art site! We have one for Ben, too--there is a link on my blog (at the bottom).
I wouldn't wonder too much about his regression to a former style--Benjamin is 4 and some days he draws a figure standing next to a truck and other days...a squiggly things with some blobs and a line.
My husband is constantly amazed at how his young eye perceives things just as he should--his ability to reproduce what he sees and or/ its representation is simply that of a...well, four-year-old.
I'll have to "follow" Kiddo's Art site!
Julie says
breaking the pastels sounds like something Mr. Intensity would do!
Lisa says
I honestly wouldn't worry about it, my oldest takes to drawing and painting on an off-again on-again basis. Her fine motot skills still aren't the best at the age of 7, but I know she'll get it eventually.
Jeanette Nyberg says
Hooray for leaving art supplies out all the time! It really is interesting to see what they choose to create- it's all good, though 🙂