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Fun Art Exploration Projects for Children

By Autumn Lockwood

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 16Sep2011 Word count: 1660 Viewed: 93 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Teaching children to enjoy and appreciate art at a young age is one of the best things you can do to encourage their sense of creativity. Children love to explore almost anything, so providing them with enriching experiences when they are little can be very rewarding. In order to avoid squelching their sense of experimentation it is important to keep the overall focus on fun and exploration, instead of giving them the impression that there is a right or wrong way to create art. If you are looking for ways to increase your child's appreciation of art, here are some exploration projects that will be fun for both you and your child.

Finger Painting

Using finger paints is something that even the smallest child can do. The concept of using their hands to apply and manipulate the paint is usually quite appealing to children. Finger paints are also inexpensive and easy to use. All you need is a good supply of paper, a variety of finger paint colors, a protected table surface, and an apron or old clothes for the child to wear. You can even make your own homemade finger paints by mixing a quarter cup of cornstarch, a quarter teaspoon of salt, one and a half tablespoons of sugar, and a cup of cold water together in a saucepan. Cook the mixture for about ten minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. When the mixture thickens to the consistency of finger paint, remove from the heat and let it cool. Divide into small plastic containers, add a few drops of food coloring to each, and you'll have plenty of colorful finger paints for your child to enjoy. Once their paintings are dry, place one or two in colorful large picture frames so that they can experience the pride of having their artwork displayed on the wall.

Crayon Scratch Art

Children always seem to love an element of surprise in their artwork, making crayon scratch art a popular choice. To begin, cover the table with paper or a plastic tablecloth to protect the surface. It can also be a good idea to put paper or a drop cloth on the floor to protect against stray crayon particles as they are scratched off. Give your child several pieces of paper, along with plenty of different colors of crayons. Have them use a variety of different colors to draw designs on the paper, making sure to cover the entire paper surface in colors. Do not use black crayons for this step. Then have your child color over the entire paper surface with a black crayon, covering the colors. Give them a wooden popsicle stick or a plastic spoon, and let them scratch designs onto the paper. This will remove the black crayon coating, revealing the colors underneath. They can scratch off as much or as little of the black layer as desired to create the effect they are looking for. When done, brush the surface of the paper to remove any loose crayon particles. The end result is a kind of reverse art, which can be quite interesting. Display a few of their best works in shiny metal picture frames.

Your children will love these fun and easy crafts which allow them to express their creativity in a colorful and entertaining way.

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