“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” –Oscar Wilde
I am a crazy crafter! I like to create and make and I enjoy sharing this hobby with my kids. Research shows that art activities promote brain development in early childhood. Art encourages creativity, introduces kids to new materials, tools, and ways to use them. It helps to develop cognitive skills too. As kids create art, they are learning about colors, shapes, sizes of objects, cause and effect, and much more. They use their problem solving skills as they plan and experiment with different art mediums. While using finger paints and scissors, they are also developing their physical skills as these require fine motor control. At is also very calming … I like to have my kiddos do an art, Play-doh, or puzzle activity before bed.
Did you know that Michaels offers art opportunities for kids on Saturdays? For just $2, your child can participate in the Michaels Kids’ Club! It is held Saturday mornings at your local Michaels store from 10 am to noon. You can register online or just drop in. My son is old enough to participate, but my daughter is not quite 3 yet. Some of the projects I can assist her with and she is able to complete them successfully. My son recently completed a perler bead coaster. My husband and I decided my daughter would sit this one out as we would probably spend more time cleaning up the beads then actually putting the beads on the board. At first my son found it challenging and he kept knocking over his beads. After a while he figured out how to stand the beads up on their pegs without knocking all of the others over (hooray, problem solving!). This project took some deep concentration on his part, but he stuck with it and completed the project. The Michaels employee running the club ironed it for him, but let him peel off the paper. He was so proud of his new coaster he showed it off to a few people in the store and even talked a mom into taking her kids in to make one too!
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” – Pablo Picasso
Check the website for upcoming projects: http://www.michaels.com/classes-and-events/classesandevents