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Cut out heart shapes from the pink felt. You can make them any size you prefer.
Take a bamboo stick and apply a small amount of hot glue to one end.
Press the glued end of the bamboo stick onto the heart shaped felt.
Repeat the process for each felt heart.

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Some links on this site are affiliate links (mostly the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program), which means that if you choose to make a purchase from them, I will earn a small commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. I recommend them because they are helpful and useful.

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Twist two pipe cleaners together in the middle.

Form a ring with the twisted part for your finger.

Spread out the four ends evenly.

Cut the ends of the bottom wings slightly shorter than the top ones.

Roll all four trimmed ends into tight spirals towards the center.

Shape the spirals into wing shapes, tucking the bottom wings behind the top ones.

Take a smaller pipe cleaner and place it behind the butterfly, tucking it in behind the wings to make the body.

Wrap the smaller pipe cleaner around the butterfly's body and twist it above the top wings to secure it.

Cut and curl the ends of the small pipe cleaner to make antennae

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Begin by choosing a base for your craft using a piece of construction paper.
Next, cut out a paper basket using another piece of construction paper.
Once the basket is ready, use glue to attach it to the construction paper base.
Now, apply paint to your hands and press them into separate sheets of paper to create handprints.
After the handprints have dried, carefully cut them out.
Take bamboo sticks and attach one to the back of each handprint using glue.
Finally, place the handprints into the paper basket, arranging them nicely.

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Cut out a circle from the brown construction paper. This will be the body of the rabbit.

Fold the circle in half to create a semi-circle shape.

Cut out another circle from the lighter paper for the rabbit's head.

From the same lighter paper, cut out two smaller circles for the bunny's hands.

Cut out two ears from the lighter paper as well.

Glue the head onto the top of the folded semi-circle body.

Glue the smaller circles onto the sides of the body to create the bunny's hands.

Attach the ears to the top of the rabbit's head using glue.

Finally, draw a happy face on the rabbit using a marker or pen.

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Visual Literacy Strategies for the K12 Classroom

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Moving beyond the written word, students should be encouraged to analyze all text features, including visual images. How including visual literacy learning strengthens reading skills.

Visual literacy is an important piece of overall literacy learning. From the very earliest standards in Kindergarten all the way through 12th grade, common core standards for English Language Arts focus on important visual literacy skills to integrate knowledge and ideas at all grade levels.

With visual literacy skills being continually built upon from one year to the next, it's apparent that it's a valuable standard that should be covered in-depth every year with a variety of grade-level texts. Students should be working to not only analyze visuals that are paired with texts, but they should also be working to create visuals based on their understanding of the texts they read.

Visual thinking strategies encourage students to express their ideas and make meaning with the text through the creation of their own visuals. The visuals can be hand-drawn with crayons, colored pencils, and/or markers or digitally created using programs such as Adobe Spark, Canva, Google Suite, and/or Microsoft 365 depending on classroom resources and students' preference. Visuals can be constructed relatively quickly at the end of a class as a survey of students' understanding of a chapter or section and used as a check for understanding, exit ticket, or formative in-class assignment.

Visuals can also be used as a summative assessment for a final project in the form of storyboard or one pager. For the storyboard visual literacy assessment, I often utilize this strategy when reading a play and have the students recreate a scene by reimagining a section of the story through their own authorship. When modeling the storyboard task with students, I make sure to show them multiple versions of a text, such as The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, with watching excerpts from plays and movie clips, as well as viewing picture book and graphic novel versions. Therefore, the students are able to encounter a variety of ways numerous people have approached their own telling of the story based on the original version.

One pagers are great visual literacy summative assessments for a chapter or section in a text or with a short story. The goal is to keep the information all on one 8.5x11 page, either in portrait or landscape format. One pagers give a wonderful visual overview of what was read and push the students to think about and carefully select what's really important and meaningful from their reading of the written work. Students choose relevant images, significant vocabulary terms, noteworthy phrases/sentences that help to summarize the text and emphasize key literary elements. One pagers work to showcase the students' understanding through concise and impactful visual designs tied to important text features.

Looking for books to pair with visual thinking strategies for your classroom? Visual literacy learning is easy to integrate with Glose's e-reading platform. Glose for Education is an engaging resource that turns reading into a fun and social activity for students. With access to 1000s of ebooks and audiobooks, teachers can match the right titles to their class's reading standards with ease.

1. Create reading groups and customize reading goals

2. Pick books for students or give them the freedom to choose

3. Read with the class and lead fun, interactive discussions

4. Monitor progress to keep students on track

Keep up the classroom literacy learning with summer reading programs done right with Glose for Education. There are four simple steps to integrate the program for your students:

Once the students are set with their reading through Glose's interactive platform, assign a storyboard or a one pager as a visual summative assessment due at the beginning of the new school year. Students will be grateful to avoid having to write lengthy book reports, and teachers will be able to get a jump start on covering those important visual literacy skills. Keep visual literacy learning going strong all year long with Glose for Education!

Reference:

Common Core State Standards Initiative: Preparing America's Students for College and Career http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/

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Visual Literacy Strategies for the K12 Classroom

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Moving beyond the written word, students should be encouraged to analyze all text features, including visual images. How including visual literacy learning strengthens reading skills. Visual literacy is an important piece of overall literacy learning.

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Why drawing in kindergarten is very important

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Many opportunities for free drawing (with some more structured tasks) has many advantages

1 Providing children in the reception year with many opportunities for drawing allows them to refine the basic graphic skills needed for learning to print letters and numbers.

2 Drawing also allows the child to improve the motor coordination improving the needed for planning and producing the different strokes used to form letters and numbers

3 Getting involved in drawing projects trains/develops a child's ability and willingness to:

sit and work at a project,

explore different ways of drawing lines to create shapes and patterns

arrange lines and shapes on a page to create a picture

Time spent drawing also helps to develop the strength and coordination in the shoulder, wrist and fingers needed for engaging in handwriting tasks.

Movement control needed for drawing and handwriting includes:

Using effective finger movement for drawing short lines and small shapes

The only way to improve finger action for handwriting

is to practice drawing short lines and small shapes.

Other fine motor tasks will not do the trick.

This is because motor learning and strength training are very specific - you learn and improve on tasks that you practice. This is called training specificity.

Drawing practice improves the basic graphic abilities needed for learning to print letters and numbers

Take a look at the picture below, drawn by Max in kindergarten. You will see many different graphic elements drawn with a fair amount of precision, that are well spaced and sized and have several fluent short and long lines in many directions.

Max's drawing incorporates all the graphic elements needed for learning to print letters and numbers.

long and short lines in different directions;

small well formed circles and other shapes;

fairly accurate sizing and spacing of lines and shapes;

In addition Max planned the placement and size of the different elements before he started the drawing so that the pirate ship fits onto the page

This next picture was drawn Mary who has poor graphic abilities and associated coordination difficulties. Long lines are jagged, spacing is poor with crowding and overlapping of lines, and sizing is erratic.

Drawing a Z inside a small box

The term basic graphic abilities refers to the child's ability to draw straight and curved lines of different lengths and curvatures, in different directions and in different positions on the page to produce a desired outcome.

having an idea of the desired outcome (a goal);

translating the idea into a motor plan;

translating the motor plan into a commands to the muscles to produce the movements required to achieve the goal.

To write a Z that fits inside a small block, the child needs to "know" that a capital Z has three lines joined together. To fit the Z inside the block involves planning a horizontal line of the right length which starts in the right place, followed by a diagonal lines in the right direction and angle ending near the bottom corner of the block. This must be followed by another horizontal line of the right length.

The sequence is: start near the top left hand corner of the block, produce a horizontal line that ends near the top right hand corner, followed by a diagonal line that ends near the bottom left and corner and lastly make another horizontal line that ends near the bottom right hand corner.

Roan 5y 6m: Fairly good control of sequence of strokes needed to form a Z, but the direction of the diagonal line needs work.

Will 4y 6m: Not able to reproduce a sequence of strokes to write a Z in a reliable manner

The basic graphic abilities

1 The ability to draw relatively smooth and straight lines of different lengths and in different directions

To draw a long long horizontal lines the hand holding the marker is moved across the page using a combined shoulder/elbow movement. Ben (Gr R, second term) draws relatively straight and smooth horizontal lines.

Aziz (Gr R, second term) draws lines are not smooth and have many sharp changes in direction.

Roan's at 6y is able to draw relatively straight lines in all directions. Some directions are more challenging than others. Her ability to control the direction and length of lines is reflected in her drawings.

2 Ability to draw smooth curved lines and circles of different sizes

Roan (Gr R, first term) has good control over her drawing of curved shapes. The lines are smooth and confident.

This Gr R learner has difficulty drawing curved and straight line shapes with a smooth action.

3 Ability to draw/copy squares and rectangles

Children with good graphic skills can draw/copy rectangles and squares of a of a particular size and position on the page. Roan is able to copy a square and rectangles with attention to size and orientation. In this example her ability to copy a rectangle is better than her drawing of a square.

Here you see Will's (4y 6m) attempt to copy a square and a rectangle. He has good control over drawing vertical and horizontal lines, but is not able to pre-plan the length of the lines to match the example. His various attempts at drawing provide the practice he needs to translate the visual information about line length into a motor plan to reproduce the lines.

4 Ability to draw a rectangle with the eyes closed

Children with good graphic skills can draw rectangles with their eyes closed. To be able to do this the child needs to pre-plan the movements, and keep in mind the length of the first and second lines in order to complete the drawing accurately. Children who tend to rely on ongoing visual feedback to control their movements can often draw a rectangle with the eyes closed and will produce lines that are in fact straighter and more fluent when over-reliance on visual monitoring is prevented.

Will (4y 6m) also managed to draw a rectangle after two failed attempts

5 Ability to combine the basic lines and shapes

Learners with good graphic skills will combine shapes and lines to represent people, animals and objects. This involves careful planning of the size and position of the lines and shapes relative to one another.

6 Ability to draw small shapes using effective finger movements

Children with good graphic skills will incorporate small shapes into their drawings.

Children acquire the basic graphic skills through dedicated practice

Young children with good graphic skills have usually spent quite a lot of time drawing over a number of years. This experience provides the child with the necessary practice to acquire the sensorimotor control needed for drawing the basic graphic elements.

Learning to draw a circle - a case study in drawing development over several years

Children learn to draw closed curved shapes at a very early age. Circular marks are a very prominent feature of toddler drawings.
T (2 years) spiral drawings
Tadpole people with circular shapes are a common feature of early people drawings, drawn repeatedly over the course of at least a year.

However, in order to draw a well shaped circle the child needs to pay attention to the shape that has been drawn, notice how it differs from a well formed circle and make repeated attempts to draw good circles.

Drawing is about pattern making

Drawing activities allow children to explore color, line curvature, length and direction, how lines can be used to draw shapes and how how shapes can be combined in different ways to make patterns and represent people, animals and objects.

Drawing helps children to develop the visual-spatial skills needed for mathematics. Pattern making is also an important aspect of developing mathematical ideas in young children.

.

Drawing provides a way to express feelings, relationships and events

Drawing provides children with ways to represent ideas, things and people, record events and express their ideas and feelings.

Lily 6 years: Daddy when he is very sick

Will 5 year: My family
Kindergarten Drawing Activities
A PDF Guide for Parents and Teachers

Enhancing Motor Coordination and Graphic Abilities Needed for Handwriting

Learning to draw and print numbers and letters is a matter of learning to control the movements of a pencil on paper to produce straight and curved lines of different lengths, in different directions, precisely located on the page and linked to create patterns, shapes and letters. (Read more about the graphic abilities children should acquire in kindergarten.)

Children with movement difficulties associated with DCD, ASD, joint hypermobility (low muscle tone) and those having a very cautious highly sensitive (anxious) nature or a diagnosis of Sensory Processing Disorder, may need a bit of extra help with guided practice opportunities to acquire the. basic motor control and graphic abilities for learning to print letters and numbers that are well formed,spaced and sized.

The drawing activities in this Kindergarten Drawing Activities book are designed to help children acquire these basic motor coordination and graphic abilities in readiness for learning to print letters and numbers.

Available to Handwriting Gym subscribers Just $20 for a 12 month subscription
Subscribe here
HWG subscribers: To access the PDF go to your account and click on the files tab.

About
How the brain controls drawing movements
Arm and finger movements for drawing
Materials
Teaching for better learning

Activities with 13 different activity sheets
Scribble pictures and wobbly monsters
Long vertical and horizontal lines
Ladders and train tracks
Circles in boxes
Diagonal lines, triangles and zigzags
Rectangles and squares
Shapes in small boxes

About the author

Pam Versfeld is a physiotherapist with many years of experience working with children who have drawing and handwriting difficulties related to developmental motor disorders such as developmental coordination disorder (DCD), ASD, joint hypermobility/ low muscle tone and ADHD and being a highly sensitive child (sometimes diagnosed as a sensory processing disorder).

Pam is also a proud grandmother who has closely observed the developing graphic abilities of several grandchildren who have spent many hours sitting and drawing at her kitchen table.

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Why drawing in kindergarten is very important

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Getting involved in drawing projects trains / develops a child's ability and willingness to sit and work at a project, explore different ways of making marks, arrange lines and shapes on a page and develops the strength and coordination needed for handwriting.

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Visual Literacy is Essential for Young Learners

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Visual Literacy is Essential for Young Learners

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Take a look at this image. What is this a picture of? What colors did the artist use and why? What is the artist trying to accomplish?

This is a beautiful, brightly-colored chameleon, isn't it? Take another look. Do you notice the feet on top of the head and in the tail? Do you see the faces near the eye and on the underside of the tail? This amazing work of art by Johannes Stötter is, in fact, two people painted to look like a chameleon.

You have just completed a very simple exercise in visual literacy. Visual literacy is defined as the ability to interpret, negotiate, and make meaning from information presented in the form of an image, extending the meaning of literacy, which commonly signifies interpretation of a written or printed text.

Visual literacy is a necessity, especially in today's society where all forms of media are filled with images and symbols, infographics, art, maps, charts, and so many other types of visual communication. And the sooner young children become visually literate, the better. It is an important skill they will use throughout their lives.
Promoting Visual Literacy with Picture Books
Recently I took my kids to see * The Very Eric Carle Exhibit at the Children's Museum. The exhibit brought Carle's books, including the ever-popular The Very Hungry Caterpillar, to life. Children could crawl through tall, silk grass; walk through a spider web tunnel; meander through life-size pages of a book; and participate in many other activities and crafts. Filled with images and artwork from Carle's books and throughout his life, the exhibit offered countless visual literacy learning opportunities.

Using picture books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a great way to encourage visual literacy in your young language learners. Picture books provide many opportunities to engage children; you can ask questions about the images and allow them to share their ideas about what is happening in the story. Open-ended questions can extend the discussion on how the images, characters, and story might relate to things in their own lives, further building an understanding of the meaning behind the pictures and text. These questions and conversations promote critical thinking and help boost self-confidence.

GrapeSEED recognizes the importance of visual literacy and provides images in many of the teaching materials to help increase vocabulary and expand comprehension.

How do you promote visual literacy with your children or students? Let us know on the GrapeSEED Facebook page.

Want to have more fun with visual literacy? Take our short, eight-question personality quiz!

*Making its debut in Pittsburgh this year, the 'The Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit' will be traveling to museums all across the country over the next ten years. If you get a chance, take your children or students to see it. It is awe-inspiring and delightful for children of all ages, including us big kids!

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Visual Literacy is Essential for Young Learners

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Take a look at this image. What is this a picture of? What colors did the artist use and why? What is the artist trying to accomplish? This is a beautiful, brightly-colored chameleon, isn't it? Take another look. Do you notice the feet on top of the head and in the tail?

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Mrs Brown * Art ®

Award-winning Art Educator and Speaker featured in publications worldwide such as Scholastic, IncredibleArt, Homeschool Top 100, Family Friendly HQ, KinderArt, Artastic, Metrowest, The Sun, and more!

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Mrs Brown * Art ® Award-winning Art Educator and Speaker featured in publications worldwide such as Scholastic, IncredibleArt, Homeschool Top 100, Family Friendly HQ, KinderArt, Artastic, Metrowest, The Sun, and more!

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by Julia Gorham
Children are naturally curious. From the minute they gain control of their limbs, they work to put themselves out into the world to see how it all works. They explore, observe and imitate, trying to figure out how things operate and how to control themselves and their environments. This unrestricted exploration helps children form connections in their brain; it helps them learn-and it's also fun.

Art is a natural activity to support this free play in children. The freedom to manipulate different materials in an organic and unstructured way allows for exploration and experimentation. These artistic endeavors and self-directed explorations are not only fun, but educational as well. Art allows youth to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life, but also for learning. So why is art so important for preschoolers?

Skills youngsters practice when participating in art activities include:

Fine motor skills - Grasping pencils, crayons, chalk and paintbrushes helps children develop their fine motor muscles. This development will help your child with writing, buttoning a coat and other tasks that require controlled movements.

Cognitive development - Art can help children learn and practice skills like patterning and cause and effect (i.e., "If I push very hard with a crayon, the color is darker."). They can also practice critical thinking skills by making a mental plan or picture of what they intend to create and following through on their plan.

Math skills - Children can learn, create and begin to understand concepts like size, shape, making comparisons, counting and spatial reasoning.

Language skills - As children describe and share their artwork, as well as their process, they develop language skills. You can encourage this development by actively listening and asking open-ended questions in return. It is also a great opportunity to learn new vocabulary words regarding their project (i.e., texture). In addition to helping youth develop important skills, free expression is also good for overall health and well-being. Giving your child a creative outlet can help relieve stress and work through things happening in their lives. By encouraging artistic expression, you can help facilitate learning.

Talk with your child about their work - It's often hard to decipher a child's drawings, even though the child knows exactly what it is. When we ask, "What is it?" we are saying that it should look like something we'd recognize. Instead, ask open-ended questions like "Tell me about your picture." You can also describe specific things your child is doing by saying things such as, "You're making short lines, I see you are using red, green and blue." You can also describe the actions your child is taking or the materials they are using by saying things such as, "You are using a soft paintbrush. I noticed you are making small circles. You are using two crayons at the same time!"

Imitate your child - Instead of drawing your own picture, sit down with your child and imitate their actions. Make big scribbles, small lines or practice drawing circles. If your child is focused on what you are drawing or how "good" your picture is, they are less likely to be imaginative and creative on their own.

Provide choices - Gather a wide range of materials for your child to use like paint, colored pencils, chalk, play dough, markers, crayons, oil pastels, scissors and stamps. Mix it up by bringing in unexpected materials like Q-tips, dinosaurs, dry pasta or beans.

Support, don't lead - Have you ever noticed that activities become much less fun when they are dictated by someone else? The same goes for kids-let them decide what materials they want to use and how and when to use them. Maybe they want to peel the paper off a crayon and use it lengthwise on the paper, instead of writing with the tip.

Keep it open-ended - Instead of sitting down with a specific plan or outcome in mind, let your child explore, experiment and use their imaginations. They might make a big mess or change their mind several times-this is all part of the creative process.

Focus on the process, not the product - Encouraging your child in the action of unstructured art helps them work with intrinsic motivation. It teaches them to express themselves freely, without worrying about what others think. If a lot of attention is given to the final product or we spend a lot of energy praising the end result, a child may be more likely to do things to get your approval instead of doing what they want to do. Part of focusing on the process involves encouraging effort; exploration and effort are more important than the end product. Notice their hard work!

Let it go - As long as a child is safe (i.e., not running with scissors), let them explore. They may spend the majority of the time sharpening colored pencils instead of actually drawing with them. Children learn through playing, exploring and trial and error. When we give them freedom to discover, they are learning to create and experiment in new and innovative ways.

Get your child creating and learning-all you'll need is a paintbrush and an open mind.

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by Julia Gorham Children are naturally curious. From the minute they gain control of their limbs, they work to put themselves out into the world to see how it all works. They explore, observe and imitate, trying to figure out how things operate and how to control themselves and their environments.

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Why is Art Important in Schools | Parenting Tips & Advice

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Why is Art Important in Schools | Parenting Tips & Advice

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Why is art important in schools? Simple creative activities are some of the building blocks of childhood development and help prepare your child for life! Read more on PBS KIDS for Parents.

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The art of creating: Why art is important for early childhood development

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The art of creating: Why art is important for early childhood development

Art exploration is not only fun and entertaining, but also educational. Here are some tips for growing your budding artist.

Support your child's artistic journey with these tips. Photo credit: Lenchensmama | MSU Extension

Children are naturally curious. From the minute they gain control of their limbs, they work to put themselves out into the world to see how it all works. They explore, observe and imitate, trying to figure out how things operate and how to control themselves and their environments. This unrestricted exploration helps children form connections in their brain, it helps them learn-and it's also fun.

Art is a natural activity to support this free play in children. The freedom to manipulate different materials in an organic and unstructured way allows for exploration and experimentation. These artistic endeavors and self-directed explorations are not only fun, but educational as well. Art allows youth to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life, but also for learning.

Skills youth practice when participating in art activities include:

Fine motor skills. Grasping pencils, crayons, chalk and paintbrushes helps children develop their fine motor muscles. This development will help your child with writing, buttoning a coat and other tasks that require controlled movements.

Cognitive development. Art can help children learn and practice skills like patterning and cause and effect (i.e., "If I push very hard with a crayon the color is darker."). They can also practice critical thinking skills by making a mental plan or picture of what they intend to create and following through on their plan.

Math skills. Children can learn, create and begin to understand concepts like size, shape, making comparisons, counting and spatial reasoning.

Language skills. As children describe and share their artwork, as well as their process, they develop language skills. You can encourage this development by actively listening and asking open-ended questions in return. It is also a great opportunity to learn new vocabulary words regarding their project (i.e., texture).

In addition to helping youth develop important skills, free expression is also good for overall health and well-being. Giving your child a creative outlet can help relieve stress and work through things happening in their lives. By encouraging artistic expression, you can help facilitate learning.

Want to support your child's artistic journey? Here are a few tips from Michigan State University Extension:

Talk with your child about their work. It's often hard to decipher a child's drawings, even though the child knows exactly what it is. When we ask, "What is it?" we are saying that it should look like something we'd recognize. Instead, ask open-ended questions like "Tell me about your picture." You can also describe specific things your child is doing by saying things such as, "You're making short lines, I see you are using red, green and blue." You can also describe the actions your child is taking or the materials they are using by saying things such as, "You are using a soft paintbrush, I noticed you are making small circles, you are using two crayons at the same time!"

Imitate your child. Instead of drawing your own picture, sit down with your child and imitate their actions. Make big scribbles, small lines or practice drawing circles. If your child is focused on what you are drawing or how "good" your picture is, they are less likely to be imaginative and creative on their own.

Provide choices. Gather a wide range of materials for your child to use like paint, colored pencils, chalk, play dough, markers, crayons, oil pastels, scissors and stamps. Mix it up by bringing in unexpected materials like Q-tips, dinosaurs, dry pasta or beans.

Support, don't lead. Have you ever noticed that activities become much less fun when they are dictated by someone else? The same goes for kids-let them decide what materials they want to use and how and when to use them. Maybe they want to peel the paper off a crayon and use it lengthwise on the paper, instead of writing with the tip.

Keep it open-ended. Instead of sitting down with a specific plan or outcome in mind, let your child explore, experiment and use their imaginations. They might make a big mess or change their mind several times-this is all part of the creative process.

Focus on the process, not the product. Encouraging your child in the action of unstructured art helps them work with intrinsic motivation. It teaches them to express themselves freely, without worrying about what others think. If a lot of attention is given to the final product or we spend a lot of energy praising the end result, a child may be more likely to do things to get your approval instead of doing what they want to do. Part of focusing on the process involves encouraging effort; exploration and effort are more important than the end product. Notice their hard work!

Let it go. As long as a child is safe (i.e., not running with scissors), let them explore. They may spend the majority of the time sharpening colored pencils instead of actually drawing with them. Children learn through playing, exploring and trial and error. When we give them freedom to discover, they are learning to create and experiment in new and innovative ways.

Get your child creating and learning-all you'll need is a paintbrush and an open mind.

For other articles on child development, parenting and more, visit the MSU Extension website.

Did you find this article useful?

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The art of creating: Why art is important for early childhood development

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Art exploration is not only fun and entertaining, but also educational. Here are some tips for growing your budding artist.

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by Julia Gorham
Children are naturally curious. From the minute they gain control of their limbs, they work to put themselves out into the world to see how it all works. They explore, observe and imitate, trying to figure out how things operate and how to control themselves and their environments. This unrestricted exploration helps children form connections in their brain; it helps them learn-and it's also fun.

Art is a natural activity to support this free play in children. The freedom to manipulate different materials in an organic and unstructured way allows for exploration and experimentation. These artistic endeavors and self-directed explorations are not only fun, but educational as well. Art allows youth to practice a wide range of skills that are useful not only for life, but also for learning. So why is art so important for preschoolers?

Skills youngsters practice when participating in art activities include:

Fine motor skills - Grasping pencils, crayons, chalk and paintbrushes helps children develop their fine motor muscles. This development will help your child with writing, buttoning a coat and other tasks that require controlled movements.

Cognitive development - Art can help children learn and practice skills like patterning and cause and effect (i.e., "If I push very hard with a crayon, the color is darker."). They can also practice critical thinking skills by making a mental plan or picture of what they intend to create and following through on their plan.

Math skills - Children can learn, create and begin to understand concepts like size, shape, making comparisons, counting and spatial reasoning.

Language skills - As children describe and share their artwork, as well as their process, they develop language skills. You can encourage this development by actively listening and asking open-ended questions in return. It is also a great opportunity to learn new vocabulary words regarding their project (i.e., texture). In addition to helping youth develop important skills, free expression is also good for overall health and well-being. Giving your child a creative outlet can help relieve stress and work through things happening in their lives. By encouraging artistic expression, you can help facilitate learning.

Talk with your child about their work - It's often hard to decipher a child's drawings, even though the child knows exactly what it is. When we ask, "What is it?" we are saying that it should look like something we'd recognize. Instead, ask open-ended questions like "Tell me about your picture." You can also describe specific things your child is doing by saying things such as, "You're making short lines, I see you are using red, green and blue." You can also describe the actions your child is taking or the materials they are using by saying things such as, "You are using a soft paintbrush. I noticed you are making small circles. You are using two crayons at the same time!"

Imitate your child - Instead of drawing your own picture, sit down with your child and imitate their actions. Make big scribbles, small lines or practice drawing circles. If your child is focused on what you are drawing or how "good" your picture is, they are less likely to be imaginative and creative on their own.

Provide choices - Gather a wide range of materials for your child to use like paint, colored pencils, chalk, play dough, markers, crayons, oil pastels, scissors and stamps. Mix it up by bringing in unexpected materials like Q-tips, dinosaurs, dry pasta or beans.

Support, don't lead - Have you ever noticed that activities become much less fun when they are dictated by someone else? The same goes for kids-let them decide what materials they want to use and how and when to use them. Maybe they want to peel the paper off a crayon and use it lengthwise on the paper, instead of writing with the tip.

Keep it open-ended - Instead of sitting down with a specific plan or outcome in mind, let your child explore, experiment and use their imaginations. They might make a big mess or change their mind several times-this is all part of the creative process.

Focus on the process, not the product - Encouraging your child in the action of unstructured art helps them work with intrinsic motivation. It teaches them to express themselves freely, without worrying about what others think. If a lot of attention is given to the final product or we spend a lot of energy praising the end result, a child may be more likely to do things to get your approval instead of doing what they want to do. Part of focusing on the process involves encouraging effort; exploration and effort are more important than the end product. Notice their hard work!

Let it go - As long as a child is safe (i.e., not running with scissors), let them explore. They may spend the majority of the time sharpening colored pencils instead of actually drawing with them. Children learn through playing, exploring and trial and error. When we give them freedom to discover, they are learning to create and experiment in new and innovative ways.

Get your child creating and learning-all you'll need is a paintbrush and an open mind.

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by Julia Gorham Children are naturally curious. From the minute they gain control of their limbs, they work to put themselves out into the world to see how it all works. They explore, observe and imitate, trying to figure out how things operate and how to control themselves and their environments.

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I uploaded in TEAMS

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Cut a green felt rectangle for the body, another for the brim, and optionally, a black strip for decoration.
Roll the larger piece into a cylinder for the body, glue the smaller piece onto the bottom for the brim, and add the black strip if desired.
Decorate with black felt shapes like a buckle or shamrocks. Glue thin elastic or ribbon inside the hat for wearing.