Tuesday 28 May 2013

Fun Crafts & Art Projects For Children

By Kate Halfey


Many parents use arts and crafts as a way to keep their children happy and busy, but these endeavors have a bigger impact than simply keeping children occupied for a few hours. Art provides opportunities for children to be creative and solve problems as well as working out emotional issues. Art improves our concentration and attention to detail and also improves are dexterity. If you are looking for some fun ways for your children to get creative, consider the following suggestions.

There is no reason why you can't provide children with paper and crayons or a bunch of paints and let them create whatever they want. Sometimes it's fun to have an actual theme or project. For instance, you can download a mural template and have them color each section. These templates can be found on internet sites like ArtProjectsForKids.org for about $5 and then instantly downloaded and printed.

These templates come in many different styles and some of the most popular feature famous artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Joan Miro, Paul Cezanne and Wassily Kandinsky. There are also nature-themed pictures and holiday-themed murals to consider. Because the mural is divided into squares, children can complete just a little bit at time. When all the squares are complete, you simply arrange the pieces correctly and position them onto a larger piece of paper or other surface. You can use these murals to help you teach your children about a variety of art styles as well as learning about famous artists.

After the mural is complete and decorating a wall, use it as a springboard and jump out into other similar art projects. For instance, maybe your mural featured a vivid Georgia O'Keefe flower painting. Grab a book filled with O'Keefe's work from the library and then head to a nursery or flower shop and purchase one of your child's favorite flowers and have them create a painting or drawing based on that flower. If your children enjoyed the Andy Warhol can painting, have them consider creating a work of art on another type of product.

Art can also be a helpful tool when we are trying to teach our children about something, such as geography or history. One clever and easy project for kids to consider when studying geography is buying a PDF USA passport, which features a map of the world that the children can color. You can have them fill out the personal passport information and once they have learned about a particular country or continent, they can color in that part of the passport. Other art projects for young children include coloring mural portraits of famous presidents and iconic symbols of our country such as our flag or the Statue of Liberty.

When you are creating art, remember that it doesn't always have to be two dimensional. There are many fun 3D art projects for kids that can be created using things you already have around your house. Create a collage using pasta, or perhaps go for a nature walk and have children find leaves, flowers, acorns, pebbles and other items for their art. Transform a paper towel roll into a rain stick or totem pole, and don't forget to break out the clay and play-dough or try a paper mache project. You can even create practical items such as hand-decorated pencil cups and colorful paper weights made out of rocks. The only limits to what you can create are the limits of you and your children's imaginations.




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