Last week, we looked at Process Art for children in the inimitable book by Herve Tullet: Art Workshops for Children.
But what about toddlers and younger children? Don't they just scribble? To be sure, your child at two will do a large amount of scribbling, but that's OK! Indeed, that's more than OK! Scribbling is one of the ways children learn to write. Holding a crayon or paint brush helps children develop the fine motor skills necessary for the task of writing. Finger painting and playing with sand or dough allows your child to explore the world in a tactile manner.
As a side note, the board books with "texture pages" assists children in learning tactile difference between silky and rough, smooth and bumpy, but children can explore texture through art as well, and that's where our focus is this week.
First Art for Toddlers and Twos: Open Ended Art Experiences by MaryAnn Kohl helps parents and caregivers expose their child to art beyond coloring and finger painting in creative ways. Most of these art projects require materials easily found at discount department stores and items you might already have on hand, such as chalk, tape, glue, paint, construction paper, yarn, junk mail, crayons, fabric scraps, sponges, and other multi-use items.
The book gives basic fingerpaint recipes (with some variations!) and provides guidance on the science of color mixing, making this title a great resource for STEAM lessons for toddlers. This book further explores dough, "feelie goop," "clean mush," mud-pies, play clay, collages, stringing beads, crayon rubbings with texture items, collages and more. There is no shortage of activities in this book, despite the brevity of it! If you seek a book on process art for your toddler or two-year-old, look no further! This will guide you to hours and hours of fun time with your child. Highly recommended!
Melody Palmer, Youth Librarian, South Broken Arrow Library