8 Ideas To Get You Started When Teaching Art To Your Child | Homeschool Art
When starting out teaching art to your child there is no need to spend alot of money on expensive art equipment. Having the basics is all that is required. As your child grows in confidence and skill you can then consider purchasing more quality materials. Getting your children to enjoy doing art is really the key when starting out. The goal is to make the learning process a fun and enriching experience.
FREE PAINTING
One of the activities I like to do is to encourage free painting. By this I mean putting different paints out and letting children do their own thing. Free painting will teach them different ways to use paint and how to apply it. This activity will facilitate children in getting an understanding of colour mixing and how much paint is required on the paintbrush. It also gives them an opportunity to express themselves and is a relaxing and fun activity for children. This is a great way to introduce paint to your child.
EXPRESSION AND IMAGINATION COMBINING MUSIC WITH ART
What I also like to do is put on some music and get children to draw to the music. You can ask them to draw whatever images or feelings they have when they listen to the music. This is a great way to encourage kids to not feel as though they have to get things perfect and release them into a creative experience. It's also a lot of fun. Through this format it stimulates imagination, focusses them and is very relaxing. Children also enjoy listening to music whilst creating art so you could also have music on in the background during other art activities.
LISTENING SKILLS COMBINING READING WITH ART
Another thing you can do is when you're reading a story to your child. You could get them to draw what they are picturing as they listen to the story.You could have your kids sketch a character or a scene that is in the book. To facilitate more creative expression I would suggest that you don't show your child the pictures in the book until after they have finished their artwork. As looking at the pictures could influence their art making. The idea of this activity it to get them to use their imagination and draw what they're listening to. An extension on this activity could be that once they have finished their drawing you could look at the pictures in the book together and see if there are any comparisons. You could also get them to copy the pictures in the book.
On a side note it is important to encourage your child’s creativity, imagination and listening skills. So try not to compare their work as far as talent and skill go. Your goal is to build them up in confidence and self expression.
HOW TO DRAW BOOKS
How to draw books are great for teaching the basic, intermediate and more advanced skills of drawing. It is also something children can take anywhere and practice their drawing skills. I have found how to draw books great in helping children with the basics. For me the foundation of drawing is all about breaking things down into simple shapes and that is why these books are so good. Once children have this foundations in place it makes drawing so much easier.
DRAWING IN SHAPES
I find one of the best ways to teach drawing is by getting children to break down pictures into shapes. By that I mean really basic shapes such as circles, squares, triangles, rectangles. It helps with proportion and learning where to place things. When I teach children this way I will get them to look at an image and tell me what shapes they see. I then get them to draw the image only using shapes. Sometimes I will photocopy a picture and make them draw over everything only with shapes. This encourages children to see objects easier and it simplifies the process for them.
HEADING OUTDOORS
Another activity that kids enjoy is taking them outside and getting them to draw their surroundings. I often do this using oil pastels as they are easy to transport and you don't need any other equipment to setup. I will sometimes get them to sketch a picture. Maybe even take some photos and complete the artwork back at home. That way you don't have to pack a whole lot of art equipment with you.
COPY PICTURES
You can also get children to copy pictures. This is something I would suggest for all children. As once they have learned the basics of drawing copying will help them learn about proportion perspective, shading etc. It is never to early to start. However be mindful of where your own child is at developmentally. As you don't want to give your child something that is beyond their developmental/skill level.
ONLINE COURSES
You can also purchase online lessons. Some lessons also have an interactive element included in the class.
Alternatively you could organise a group of kids to meet together at someone's house and pay for an art teacher to come to your house. If you share the cost with a few families it won't break the budget.
If you're not confident on how to do any of this then why not join an online class. Most of these classes are run by experienced art teachers and artists who have had many years perfecting their craft.
The online classes that artforkidz have created are focused on a combination of learning basic drawing, painting, watercolours and oil pastel techniques. Whilst introducing children to different mediums and styles. The goal of these classes are to encourage children to have their own form of self expression whilst building up their confidence in the creative arts.
We believe that all children are creative and deserving of a quality art experience, whether that's in an studio or around your kitchen table with our online instruction.
