Tips from Ms. Libby, Kingsley's Early Childhood Visual Arts Teacher

Art is a focal point in the Kingsley Early Childhood program and serves as an opportunity for children to express themselves and grow creatively as well as academically. While Kingsley students receive an abundance of creative projects and opportunities at school, the questions I often get from parents are, “How do I encourage my child to be creative at home?” and “How can I support their love of art?”

There are many ways to answer this question, but I find that one of the most important ways to encourage and foster a love of art at home is through your approach. In my experience, it is more important to focus on the process, not the product, when working creatively with your child. In this post, I will explain the importance of process art and how it connects to actionable ways you can support your little artist outside of the classroom.

What is process art, and how do we use it at Kingsley?

Process art is exactly what it sounds like: encouraging children to take pride and joy in the process of making rather than in the final product. Most of the projects we do at school are focused on process rather than product. While there is an end goal in mind, the main focus of each project is the process of trial and error, exploring materials, and fostering a love of making.

For example, when I’m presenting a project, I might say something like, “Today we are doing shape stamping. You can paint on the shapes and stamp them on the paper to make whatever you would like.” Now the children are required to use paint and shapes, but how they use them is entirely up to them.

During our shape stamping project, I noticed students dragging the stamps across the paper, rolling them, pressing them with different amounts of force, and using more or less paint to see the differences. I didn’t tell them to do any of these things; this is simply how they naturally explored the materials. Children often experience art as a sensory activity and are more focused on how the materials make them feel.

By allowing children to make their own discoveries and draw their own conclusions, they develop a sense of accomplishment and pride in their work. Ultimately, this helps them take on more challenging projects as their confidence grows.

How can parents foster a love of art and build confidence at home?

There are many ways to support your child’s creativity at home! To start, you can create a designated art space in your home—whether it’s their room, the basement, or outside (weather permitting). Wherever it is, this should be a space where your child knows they’re free to explore their creativity.

You can also set aside designated art clothes—clothes that are perfectly fine to get messy. This allows children to focus on their work rather than worrying about getting dirty (you might be surprised how many children express concern about this).

Another simple way to encourage creativity is to provide a sketchbook specifically for your child’s work. This not only gives them open access to draw and sketch, but also allows them to look back at their progress and see their improvement. It can be really special to go through their sketches together—there is usually a whole story behind their work, and it’s meaningful for children when parents show interest in what they are creating.

My final tip circles back to the idea of process art and how you talk about your child’s artwork. It’s important to encourage them to enjoy what they are doing—that is the whole point of being creative. Make sure they understand it’s about the process, not just the final product.

I like to use phrases such as, “Wow, I can tell you worked so hard on that,” or “I’m so proud of you for trying something new,” rather than only saying, “That’s a beautiful drawing” or “Good job.” That’s not to say you should never say those things—please do! However, I try to emphasize the effort and thought the child puts into their work more often than how it looks.

All of that being said, the main takeaway I would love for you to have is this: it’s a beautiful thing for your child to show an interest in art, and with the right mindset, you can help your child grow into a confident, creative, and mindful little artist.

MEET THE WRITER:

Libby Matre is Kingsley's Early Childhood Visual Arts teacher. She holds a BA in Film and Visual Art from Wheaton College, and has over seven years of experience instructing little artists. At Kingsley, you can find her running peaceful small group lessons at Fairfield and Kindergarten explorations in the Exeter art lab. You can reach her at [email protected].