Encouraging the Young Artist

To encourage young children to become interested in creating their own artwork, provide them with their own art supplies.

• A personal box for each child encourages creativity and the development of longer attention spans. A fishing tackle box with plenty of compartments makes an excellent art box.
• Encourage children to take responsibility for their own supplies as they take out, use and put away their supplies.
• A basic art box includes crayons, colored chalk, plastic or round-tip scissors, watercolor set, paper, marking pens, tape, colored pencils and glue. New or special items for the art box can be given as gifts on various occasions during the year.
• Make a few rules for creative projects such as cleanup and taking some precautions ahead of time to prevent a mess.
• A large plastic tablecloth reserved for art projects works well to protect a work area.

There is no better time to foster creativity than while children are young. Creativity can litter a kitchen floor in minutes, but the results can be extremely worthwhile.