Methods for Expanding Your Child's Creativity

This was originally published at AC. You can find that version here if you are so inclined. 

All children have this natural want and need to create. They have the curiosity to explore and expand their creative horizons as well. Why not offer them all the mediums possible in an attempt to further expand their horizons and to enrich their minds all at once?

As a bit of an artist myself, I've always been quick to pick up on my son's interest in creative expression.

Crayons

These are an old stand by favorite for many kids and adults. The newer crayons made by some of the larger companies offer a whole new experience to our little artists. From glittery crayons to gel FX to silly scented crayons, these will always be an all time favorite art supply.

Oil Pastels

Oil pastels are not nearly as messy as the name would indicate. These are actually crayon like mediums, but they blend better. You can blend the colors for smooth shading and for a more artful effect. I guess they could be classed as 'crayons' for kids that want a little more from their art.

Colored Pencils

Another stand by favorite. These are for the child that might have outgrown crayons. I've found that the better brands are smoother for coloring. Some even come with erasers for those slips that we all tend to make.

Markers

Another staple for every child with a creative streak. These will never go out of style. They are also very easy on your budgets.

Paints

Painting can be a great way to express one's self. There's so many types of paints out there to achieve the looks you desire. For the younger children, watercolors would be best. Try to get the better brands, though, as they tend to have much more vibrant shades than the cheaper sets do.

For a semi older and experienced child, acrylics are a great choice. You can find these at any craft department for around a dollar a tube. They offer larger color options for children and a smoother texture with brighter, opaque colors. They also allow the child to experiment with mixing paint colors. (Which teaches your child some art basics: What colors you can make with mixing what colors.)

Canvas

Hopefully your child will not choose their clothes or skin or even your furniture as a canvas! You can track down some "butcher" paper for some of the larger paintings your child might wish to create. Canvas boards are fairly inexpensive for an older child to experiment with. Construction papers are a good choice as well - some even come embedded with glitter particles in them! Old cardboard boxes are wonderful as they are thick enough to accept large doses of paint and they are things that you can recycle into something beautiful.

Pastels

Not to be confused with oil pastels, these are chalks. A bit on the messy side, and certainly not for a child that would get upset if their masterpiece was smeared while creating it. A suggestion for those wishing to offer pastels to your child: grab a can of workable fixative. It will make the chalks not smear, yet your child will be able to still draw over the spray to finish up their artwork.

Photography

Why not teach your child to think outside of the box and how to express themselves in alternate ways? When I got my new digital camera I decided to let my four year old to have my old 2 MP digital camera. It had only cost me $22 (reduced from $100) and it would teach him to see his world in new ways.

Photography in your child's eyes will help them to explore their world with a close eye to detail. It also will help you, as a parent, to see their world through their eyes. A learning experience for everyone. Plus the addition of digital media cards means no money wasted on blurry or dark photos. You can only print what you want and the 'film' in digital media cards is reusable!

Once your child has accumulated a number of photos that you've decided to print out you can grab a small "brag book" and put them inside. Your child will feel a sense of accomplishment and pride seeing their photos in a book just like mom and dad have.

You can find digital cameras at retailers for around $20 with a LCD screen on the back. Nominal cost for something that can be so rewarding to everyone. For younger children, there are extra durable cameras that run $50 and up. They are fairly pricey, so if you think your child will be gentle enough with a regular camera, by all means go with that option. (My four year old has not broken his regular camera and is fairly gentle with it as a rule.)

Digital Art

In this day and age we all use computers. Our children will too. Why not open new doors to them and allow them to paint on their computers? When I got my new laptop, my old one ($20 on EBAY) went to my son. He types on it and makes images in the paint program on there. One day he noticed that my computer has a paint program as well. He asked to use it and the rest is history.

Paint Shop Pro (although costly) is a wonderful program for younger children to work with. It has paint tubes (think digital rubber stamps) that your child can make images with by simply dragging the mouse around the document to create patterns of the tubed image.

The Billy Bear And Friends coloring book program is 100% free to download, and well worth your time. This program is a computerized coloring book made to help young children who are new to using a mouse create things. The interface is very easy to use with virtual crayons at the bottom and a bucket fill feature. There's one image per letter of the alphabet with five extra images. There's even a clownfish that randomly appears (we have yet to see the little fella) Very Highly Recommended download! My four year old uses this program all by himself without needing any help at all.

Clay

Clay is another stand by art medium. It's also reusable, doesn't dry out (unless you choose the type that air dries, that is) and can teach your child to work in three dimensional structures.

Collage

Collage art is one more way to expand your child's horizons as well as to help recycle unwanted magazines. The ready made pictures (be it from an old magazine, stickers or even some of their own photos) opens doors for your child to express things that they might otherwise not have been able to work with. For instance, if your child loves horses and wanted to make a picture about them, but was unable to draw a horse, a collage would allow them this opportunity. Let them cut into old periodicals and set the pictures that they chose aside in a folder for those times when they feel like making collages. Gideon has a huge folder of things from food to cartoons to animals that he chose for collages.

Arts And Crafts

This is a pretty broad category, so I'll just lump the remaining materials all in together. Dig up anything you have lying around the house that you don't need anymore. Things that a child could use for three dimensional art. Beads, fabric scraps, felt pieces, glitter, rubber stamps, stickers and things of this nature are perfect. Metal findings and old jewelry charms are also great. Throw them all in a big box and watch your child explore and create.

Expanding your child's horizons at a young age will delight them and you alike. You've got nothing to lose to try one or more of these new mediums out with your child. You'll be amazed at the things that they come up with. You'll also be introducing them to the many facets of the world of art. Many of the same mediums that they will later use in school.

Do you have any ways that you allow your child to explore art outside of the typical methods? Please feel free to share your methods here as well!