Art

My kids have always enjoyed creating artworks. Alexa has always loved to draw. In fact, since fifteen months old, she has held a pen the way an adult would. Jared, on the other hand, never seemed interested in drawing until he was a little over two and a half. Then he seemed to want to draw all the time. He didn't like painting that much either when they first started at 12 months, whereas she would paint for a half hour at a time, even at that young of an age. Now ,though, Jared will paint for quite a while, though never as long as she does.

We have two easels in the house, one near the front door and another in the hallway. I've always had chalk, markers, pens and paper out for whenever they've wanted to use them. We did have quite a bit of marking on our walls in the beginning, but with gentle reminders to use the paper, they quickly learned to use the easel or other paper for their creations.

We have their artwork hanging everywhere including the walls in the living room and kitchen. In so many homes children's artwork is designated refrigerator worthy only . I believe that if we want children to place value in their work, we need to show them it has high value to us, too.

If you've never read Young At Art by Susan Striker, please do so. It will make you think twice about children, art, and learning. Yes, it is a lot of work to clean up the messes, but looking at all their paintings and drawings hanging up, I'm always reminded how it is so worth it.

Alexa is drawing with bathtub crayons, which I highly recommend. On rainy days and in the winter, they make for a great artistic diversion. Also, they are great for drawing on porches, and will come off with minimal scrubbing.

Below is a series of pictures showing how Alexa loves to paint her entire self almost every time she paints.