I make space for it by letting my children be bored. With nothing to be preoccupied, they are forced to create something: a game, a make-believe story, a comic book, art, and the latest - play-doh slime (oh boy!) It cultivates their critical thinking abilities, too, and that cannot be taken for granted these days. I spent a lot of my childhood with not much to play with and not much to do (dial-up didn't exist yet and we didn't have a home computer until I was a teenager) so I got creative and used those things around me and made things…often a mess (an organized one!), to my father's chagrin…but that helped shape my creativity for the rest of my life. And I'm forever grateful becausemy creativity drives some aspect of my everyday life and I'm giving my kids space (and grace with all the messes) to let theirs do the same.
Yes! Let them be bored! Time and space to just be is such a privilege and the creativity is just contagious- one idea leads to another.. this is the work of artists and creatives of all kinds. You're offering your children a gift in this mentality. Thank you so much for sharing.
Love this. I also take my grandchildren, particularly my 5 year granddaughter, to art museums, and show her pictures of art. She makes things everyday. Mixed media is her jam. After seeing Andy Warhol, she cut the label off of a soup can and taped it to a piece of paper, and hung it on her gallery wall. She was proud of it. And so was I. Again, she's 5.
A question that I often asked myself time and time again- not because I dont have the answer for it, but i find that it is a good practice for me to revisit this question as a form of self-evaluation.
I love it. I try to teach a creative practice to my daughter as well. And I just love to watch her enjoy the process and create her own routine. I try not to influence her yet and just see where her style grows. When she produces a piece I really love I frame it and put it on our wall
Sooo true! I was a preschool art teacher for years and the open art was absolutely magical to witness!! Kids just dove in and had fun finding their own unique creativity! The simpler the better!!
Loved your piece… really brought me back to wonderful memories in my old preschool art room!!
Love this so much.. we're always curious- what kinds of materials did they have access to? How often did they visit the art room? Love to hear about your experiences!
Sooo… each class came to art one time per week (wish it were more!). I would do an art lesson and then have centers for the children to choose … totally free art for them!
The painting table was always a hit because they could mix their paints and there i would focus on how to hold our brushes and treat them gently… the little artists didn’t even know they were learning that… they just loved all of the paint that they got to mix & we would celebrate all of the colors!
Another favorite station was a table that would be loaded with all sorts of art supplies and each week I would change out a few of them… they could take all of their creations with them! It was a dream to kneel next to them and create with them!!
That is probably more info than you expected… but I was so passionate about all of the art that those little hands would produce!! It was a dream job!
No, this is our dream job too! This is exactly the kind of environment we advocate for in schools and any learning spaces, for children of any age. And increasingly children are losing access to these kinds of spaces and approaches to materials exploration. So thank you for doing that incredible work AND for sharing❤️
I make space for it by letting my children be bored. With nothing to be preoccupied, they are forced to create something: a game, a make-believe story, a comic book, art, and the latest - play-doh slime (oh boy!) It cultivates their critical thinking abilities, too, and that cannot be taken for granted these days. I spent a lot of my childhood with not much to play with and not much to do (dial-up didn't exist yet and we didn't have a home computer until I was a teenager) so I got creative and used those things around me and made things…often a mess (an organized one!), to my father's chagrin…but that helped shape my creativity for the rest of my life. And I'm forever grateful becausemy creativity drives some aspect of my everyday life and I'm giving my kids space (and grace with all the messes) to let theirs do the same.
Yes! Let them be bored! Time and space to just be is such a privilege and the creativity is just contagious- one idea leads to another.. this is the work of artists and creatives of all kinds. You're offering your children a gift in this mentality. Thank you so much for sharing.
Love this. I also take my grandchildren, particularly my 5 year granddaughter, to art museums, and show her pictures of art. She makes things everyday. Mixed media is her jam. After seeing Andy Warhol, she cut the label off of a soup can and taped it to a piece of paper, and hung it on her gallery wall. She was proud of it. And so was I. Again, she's 5.
That is amazing! With a grandma like you supporting her creative instincts, I have a feeling she'll be making everyday for a long time!💕
A question that I often asked myself time and time again- not because I dont have the answer for it, but i find that it is a good practice for me to revisit this question as a form of self-evaluation.
I love it. I try to teach a creative practice to my daughter as well. And I just love to watch her enjoy the process and create her own routine. I try not to influence her yet and just see where her style grows. When she produces a piece I really love I frame it and put it on our wall
So glad you are both here writing on Substack, I always love reading all your creative wisdom and ideas.
Sooo true! I was a preschool art teacher for years and the open art was absolutely magical to witness!! Kids just dove in and had fun finding their own unique creativity! The simpler the better!!
Loved your piece… really brought me back to wonderful memories in my old preschool art room!!
Love this so much.. we're always curious- what kinds of materials did they have access to? How often did they visit the art room? Love to hear about your experiences!
Sooo… each class came to art one time per week (wish it were more!). I would do an art lesson and then have centers for the children to choose … totally free art for them!
The painting table was always a hit because they could mix their paints and there i would focus on how to hold our brushes and treat them gently… the little artists didn’t even know they were learning that… they just loved all of the paint that they got to mix & we would celebrate all of the colors!
Another favorite station was a table that would be loaded with all sorts of art supplies and each week I would change out a few of them… they could take all of their creations with them! It was a dream to kneel next to them and create with them!!
That is probably more info than you expected… but I was so passionate about all of the art that those little hands would produce!! It was a dream job!
No, this is our dream job too! This is exactly the kind of environment we advocate for in schools and any learning spaces, for children of any age. And increasingly children are losing access to these kinds of spaces and approaches to materials exploration. So thank you for doing that incredible work AND for sharing❤️
So sad to see art programs slow down and art not being a priority like it was when I was young!
children are born creative- we just have to prevent school (and life) from crushing it 💚
Yes, yes! That's our mission 🙏