Painting with Kids

Art is a wonderful way to express emotion, especially in children who can not always verbalize how they are feeling. Sometimes when talking about our day I have my children draw pictures for me. This way they are free to draw whatever comes to mind about their day and how they are feeling. 

 Emma is greatly anticipating the visit with her Uncle Ray, Aunt Meesha and their sweet little dog, Suki next week. Telling a five year old she has to wait one more week can cause frustration so I have been giving her a different task to do for the count down to her big awaited day. 

Emma decided she wanted to paint a painting for her Uncle and Aunt. She chose Suki for the model and asked me to print a photo for her. This was the first time Emma did a painting of a subject. I honestly thought she was too young for such a painting, but I learned differently. This was a wonderful way for her to focus and spend time on something that she would take pride in making. 

Not only did this project help to build Emma's confidence, but it expanded her way of painting and helped her to  express the excitement she is feeling for our family visit. This was a win!

 Tips I have for subject painting with young children:

• Sit with them and take a moment for them look at the subject and decide what colors they will need for this painting. 
• Have them look at the shapes in the photo (or whatever they might be painting.) This helped Emma when she was having trouble with Suki's body. I asked her what shape it looked like. Once she reconized it as a rectangle it was easy for her to paint. 
• Let them know that in art there are no mistakes. Art is beauty we create, no right or wrong.