First, I feel it's important for children to learn the basic principles of art--line, shape, color, texture.
A good book for teaching children of any age these basics is Drawing With Children by Mona Brookes.
Ms. Brookes method is simple (as truth should be), and allows for plenty of self-creativity while teaching children to recognize the basic elements of art in everything they see in the world around them. It teaches a very good course in 'rendering' (copying from nature and other sources), which is the first step in learning to create artworks. All the great artists began their art educations by learning to render.
Even small children can learn to draw and develop fine muscles by following the steps of Ms. Brookes' method, and the book can be used over and over as your child's fine motor skills develop.
Another excellent book, geared towards taking the principles of basic art to explore different materials and media is The Usborne Complete Book of Art Ideas.
On the surface it may look like a book full of by-rote projects. It should not be seen as such. It is a book of ideas, with example pictures. The book is divided into three sections. The first explores art materials and principles such as acrylic paints and patterning. The second deals with art skills, taking what we've learned from our materials and how to use them to explore specific techniques for creating just about anything. The third is project ideas, all of which can be adapted to make your child's art her own. Nothing in this section has a list of steps that must be followed in order to make something identical to what is seen in the book. Each is simply a basis to get you started.
In order to explore art to the fullest, I've always felt it important to have a variety of materials on hand to make art with. However, it's also important to note that there are plenty of art materials just hanging around the house.
Look creatively. Anything can be used to produce art.
Vegetables, leaves, corrugated cardboard, fingers (the list is practically endless) make excellent 'stamps.'
Cardboard, newspaper, magazines, old books, make great resources for paper arts or crafts.
Holey jeans and t-shirts are great sources of material for fabric arts.
Part of the fun of producing art, and of teaching problem-solving skills, is making art a treasure hunt for things around the house that can be used to produce art. Other good resources are local thrift stores, where all kinds of interesting colored and textured objects (including used clothing that come in a huge variety of colors and textures and may have some cool buttons as well) can be found for very little money.
Beyond that, think creatively as you explore stores for materials as well. Craft stores have TONS of great stuff that can be used to create art. Scrapbook papers come in a variety of not only colors but patterns and textures. The craft aisles have an amazing variety of things that can be shaped, glued, painted, or drawn. Think creatively at the grocery store as well. Everything from interesting packages and labels to the cardboard from cereal boxes or the plastic from milk jugs can be used to create art.
It's also a good idea to put out a little money for some basic art supplies:
*Paper--Look for white construction paper at school supply stores which can often be bought in bulk for not too much money. If you can afford it, buy paper in a variety of sizes and shapes. otherwise, invest in a ream of large paper (11x14) and cut down to size for individual projects. You may also want to consider a spiral bound sketch pad for your child to doodle in on their own time.
*Colored paper--Packages of multicolored construction paper can be found for not too much money just about anywhere, including dollar stores. As I've said before, scrapbook papers are an excellent resource for color, pattern and texture in paper. Another paper to consider investing in is tissue paper. You can have all kinds of fun with tissue paper while having it on hand for wrapping birthday presents. Cardstock is always useful as well. Other sources of interesting papers include newspapers, magazines, old photography books, paper grocery bags, junk mail, advertisements, coupons, dust jackets from hardcover books, etc.
*Paints--For small children look for washable paints. Most watercolors are washable. There's generally no need to put out the expense for tubed watercolors for smaller children. Just the trays of dried paints are fine. Older children will benefit from the increased flexibility in mixing and color choices from the more expensive tubed paints. But you don't have to put out a great deal of money. Inexpensive starter collections can be had for less than $15. Look at craft stores, office supply stores, or online. Generally art materials will be of the highest quality (and therefore the highest price) at art supply specialty stores. Also invest in fingerpainting paints for smaller children and sets of acrylic paints for older children. (The least expensive way to obtain acrylic paints is in the plastic stand-up tubes of craft paints. Watch for sales at craft stores. They can often be had for less than $1 per tube.)
*Sticks--what are sticks? Anything that's stick-shaped that can be used for creating art. Pencils, colored pencils, charcoal sticks, crayons, oil pastels, chalk pastels, sidewalk chalk, pens, markers, paintbrushes, cotton swabs, toothbrushes... Most of these can be obtained very inexpensively. A set of oil pastels can be had for around $5. This time of year sets of colored pencils, pencils, pens, markers, and crayons are on sale everywhere. You can use chunks of charcoal out of a fireplace or firepit. Paintbrushes come in a variety of qualities and types. I just bought a set of brushes in a canvas holder for around $7 on Amazon. It's good to have a variety--some stiff bristled and some soft bristled, different sizes and shapes. You can also use brushes otherwise used for painting the walls or spongy craft paint applicators. An old toothbrush makes interesting splash patterns. Cotton swabs make excellent inexpensive disposable paint applicators.
*Other Stuff--Anything! Bits of fabric, cosmetic sponges, rubber bands, sticks, pressed leaves and flowers, string or colored yarn, plastic sheeting, used spaghetti sauce cans. The potential list is endless. The Usborne book has an idea for making a robot out of found pieces of aluminum, wire, buttons, etc. (This project could be adapted into a problem-solving project by giving the child the goal of creating a robot that serves a specific function, for example a robot for washing cars.) Find a shoebox and just throw stuff into it that might be useful for some future art project. Look at the stuff in your recycle bin creatively.
*Music--Purchase or otherwise procure some kind of inexpensive musical instrument. Penny whistles and Recorders are cheap and easy to learn. There are numerous good method books for learning the recorder. For young children anything that makes sounds in a variety of pitches is perfect for self-exploration and learning how notes go up and down, or can go louder or softer. Maybe a slide whistle or an inexpensive harmonica. I know, I know. It's not always an easy thing to have one more thing in the house that makes noise. But music is magic, and it's math, and it's beauty, and it's soul, all wrapped up in a bunch of dots on a page. You also might want to add some music to your CD or MP3 library. go for some of the classics. We'll be discussing some later on--some that every human should be familiar with. Others that will open the world to your child. You'll find a pretty good list of some of the greatest classical music of all time here: http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best-classic-wks.html. But 'greatest' is really an opinion. Personally, I'm partial to Bach.
*Dance--No, you don't have to sign 'em up for ballet. Not every kid's a dancer. But ONE of them might be the next Mikhail Baryshnakov, and you wouldn't want the next Baryshnakov to be stuck in a corner reading a lousy book about the theory of relativity when he'd really rather be dancing! The point, for Jump-Start With Art, is to move. Much of the dance instruction in JSWA will be simply moving to a beat, or exploring the kinds of movement your child might want to make when listening to different types of music. It's about exploring how the music makes you feel, and then translating that into body movement--which is exactly what dance is. Rely on Youtube for short dance lessons in basic dance steps--like the Cha Cha--or short snippets of some great dance performances--and not just ballet! Tap, Native American ceremonial dances, etc. Have you ever seen performances by Pilobolus? Holy COW!! Amazing!
*Theater--Rely on the library, Netflix, and Youtube. You can find loads of great books with short plays for children, plays in video, snippets of great plays on Youtube. No need to buy anything here. Not to mention that children are experts at making up plays of there own. How many of you, really, have not had the privilege of sitting through a backyard performance put on by various neighborhood children? How many of you have not overheard the imaginings of a bunch of kids playing 'make believe?' They're acting. It comes naturally to them. Give them the opportunity to see professionals 'making believe.' What an amazing way to let them know that their creative play is valuable and important.
*Literary Arts--Library. Enough said. Although we all know that some caution should be exercised. Not every book in the library is a literary feast. The object of including literary arts is in discovering wonderful writing and learning together WHY it's wonderful writing. How is that judged? By how it makes you feel. It's in discovering the fascinating syllabic structure of the Haiku, or the rhyme patterns in a Shakespearean Ode. It's in discovering the delightful ways in which great authors use the very same words that we use every day to make something of beauty. And the library is FULL of beautiful words, and discovering them is half the fun.
I'll be starting up my homeschool the day after Labor Day. Until then, start gathering your materials. On September 6th we'll be ready to Jump-Start With Art!
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