Homemade Clay

You are looking for the simplest activity to set up at home ? Right, I have and idea for you. This recipe is famous in France, you probably already heard about it. Create new toys, home decoration or jewelry has never been so quick and easy!

There is many ways of making your own natural clay, but everybody doesn’t live in the right place to found it. To make it easier, there is a way of making something that come close to clay properties. I call the salt dough!

• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of salt
• 1/2 cup of tepid water
• optional: food coloring

That’s all. You can multiply the quantity as you wish.

Mix the flour and the salt in a bowl. Add progressively the water until the dough come off the bowl. If it’s to wet add flour. If it’s to dry add water.

Let flow your imagination. Salt dough offers endless possibilities! From decoration stuff to jewelry. Or new toys. Don’t make it to big, after baking it become heavy and hard.

Bake 100° degrees celsius between 1 and 2 hours.

Next day you can color them with acrylic painting. Let it dry for few hours. Sometimes add another layer can change radically the aspect.

I recommend you to involve your child since the beginning of the preparation. Bring all the ingredients together, prepare the dough should be as much fun than the rest. Others tips for this activity are exactly the same then Clay. I recommend you to check the Clay tutorial to get the best pedagogical benefits.

In my next article I will share with you 4 tricks to create with natural stuff.

You want to know more about how nature help child development  ?

 

 

Painting time

We all experienced once,  painting with children: quickly the table, the walls, bodies and faces turn into masterpiece… If you follow my blog you should know that I would tell you that to forbid is not the correct answer. However there is limit, and it’s good that your child know when he/she reaches it. So what can we do for this (never) happen ? 

I summarize here the main tricks as my view, for your painting session becomes a peaceful creative moment to share with your child :

• Protect everything, yes everything : It sounds obvious but to many times we think that these is out of reach, or this will never happen. We agree that put a plastic film on furnitures it’s easier then cleaning them. Put on apron and a helmet if needed. I think you understand, spend few more minutes to prepare is better then few hours of cleaning.

• Use a bigger paper sheet : sometimes children just need more space to express their art. About paper, you should make it all wet before painting, try and see the difference.
• Use your biggest brush, or a sponge : little ones must have a big thing to paint, we forget it but fingers are the best brushes and they are free. So don’t feel bad if you only have tiny brushes for your 3 years old, you can both use your personal brushes.

• Co-operation : painting, and this value for each (art) activity, must be a ritual with your child(ren). I mean that they should help you to prepare and clean as much as they can. The activity must be prepared in a way that children can be a part of the whole process. They are the one who prepare, paint and clean. You will be surprised how much fun they can have to clean a board and wash brushes. Of course it will be harder if you never let your child help you for any task but it can be the first of a great lineage, let’s be optimistic! I give you one magic ingredient cause I know how hard it can be at the beginning : make it new. I mean that the activity should be in a new room or place. Bring a table outside, if the weather allows you, or meet friends to their place can be your magic ingredient. Find a way to bring change, you will be surprise of the result.

• Mathematician and Dreamer : there are children who feel more comfortable drawing then painting, it’s absolutely normal. In general Drawers are the ones who will prefer doing math or geometry. In general Painters are the ones who will prefer poetry or history. I could write a book about it. To sum up, they are right or left brain dominante. What we can do to help children balance this tendency is to : draw more then painting for a Dreamer, fix goals even if you don’t achieve it, make activity step by step. Paint more then draw for a Mathematician, make things big and colorful, playing must be in the center of the activity. Believe me, your child, even if he/she doesn’t know it, will reward you their whole life.

Now that you know how to give the freedom your child needs to explore and express his/her creative potential… Brush, ready.. go!

I will be glad to hear how you experienced painting with your child(ren), let me know in the comment so I can help you if I can. If you have request for a next article, tell me, it’s our blog and I do my best to help you.

In the next tutorial you will know how to make homemade clay.

If you want to know more about creativity benefits I give you the link to my article about it : Creativity benefits

I you want to know more about : Educational Art

 

Clay tutorial

The spring is coming, every piece of land is turning green. Colorful flowers open up, it is the right moment to go for a walk in the nature with children. Get amazed about each leave, tree, flowers, animals… Collect any material that inspires you, they will help us in this tutorial. Children, for sure, will make a bouquet of flowers to color your living room, they can be used to embellish your creations too.

Put your apron, ready? Start ! To make clay is a good activity to get dirty but it is also the best way for children, since early years, to shape the matter. Run away from chemical plasticine, use the most natural clay or salt dough if you cannot find it. Avoid all mold, in addition to limit the will of your child, often, it cuts them from any process of imagination and creation. If you are doing this outside, I hope for you that the sun is shining, prepare a bowl with a little of water for your clay to not get dry too fast. Just dip you finger is enough, I don’t want your clay time becomes a swimming pool.

 

 

 

During first minutes, let your child experiment, don’t give any direction or stimulation. Just do your own, you will be surprised how much a child can learn by itself. Experimenting matter is extremely important during first years, which is why I insist on using natural material. They do not have a whole life experience of earth gravity that has an adult, they are just starting discovering it. Every tiny drop of clay, a child is learning. Each touch with clay, modeling it with both hand, creates new neural connexions and increases left/right hands coordination.

 

To finish the activity –  yes you understood the result do not matter –  I propose you to make ornamented bowl. Use your “harvest” to decorate your bowl; you can choose to let them sticked or to just keep the shape inlaid. Let it dry in a soup plate or a bowl to keep the shape.

Show the best example to your child. Don’t try to explain what you are doing. Better to keep silence or even sing, but try to not put words while the hands needs to be stimulated only. Pay attention in your own creation. Let your child experiment by itself. These will strongly influence the global benefits.

In the next tutorial I will relate you how get the best benefits of “Painting time“.

If you want to know more about Creativity benefits.

 

source

 

 

Creativity benefits

The hidden benefits of creativity. Children, teenagers and adults, creative being is an art of living. I hope through this article infuse creativity into your life.

Our “modern” education has largely relegated creativity to oblivion. Learning only centered on the development of the single mind, leading to its hypertrophy, and this increasingly at young age, lead to the opposite of what was supposedly expected.
The explosion of technology with the trivialization of television and games consoles of all kinds – to which children are also exposed earlier and earlier – have condemned the creativity of generations of children except a few happy islands of exception. The lasting loss of creativity is a real inner death that amputates the child from infinite potential without counting that it seriously reduces humanity.

Your child is having a blast finger-painting with a mix of colors. Trying to be encouraging, you ask her, “What are you making?” and she shrugs. Until you mentioned it, she hadn’t given it any thought. Little kids are masters of the moment – they love the way it feels when they smear paint on paper, how it looks when they sprinkle glitter, and even the soft sound a brush makes as it crosses the page. Unlike older kids and adults, most toddlers and preschoolers aren’t self-conscious about what they’re doing or focused on creating a finished product. That can be hard for parents to accept, says Lisa Ecklund-Flores, cofounder and executive director of Church Street School for Music and Art, in New York City. But letting go – and allowing kids to enjoy the process of creation – can reap big rewards. “Children will be better off in the long run if they’re allowed just to be in the moment and express themselves,” she says.

Fostering creativity won’t just increase your child’s chances of becoming the next Picasso. You’re also helping him develop mentally, socially, and emotionally, says Ecklund-Flores. Creating art may boost young children’s ability to analyze and problem-solve in myriad ways, according to Mary Ann F. Kohl, author of Primary Art: It’s the Process, Not the Product. As kids manipulate a paintbrush, their fine motor skills improve. By counting pieces and colors, they learn the basics of math. When children experiment with materials, they dabble in science. Most important perhaps, when kids feel good while they are creating, art helps boost self-confidence. And children who feel able to experiment and to make mistakes feel free to invent new ways of thinking, which extends well beyond the craft room.–A formidable thruster in a professional environment : in the current economy, more and more companies are looking for creative people. These individuals, by their great ability to solve problems in an original and clever way, help them to stay in the race of progress and business. Because creativity goes far beyond being able to achieve beautiful paintings or even solve problems. It is an aptitude that stimulates the whole of your thought process!

–A booster of self-confidence : trying new things helps boost self-confidence. Being creative allows us to explore many aspects of our personality and reinforce what we already know about ourselves. This can allow us to discover new talents that we were not aware of before. This process can reinforce our sense of identity and, therefore, increase our level of trust.

–A serious more for your social relations : creativity facilitates social relations. Being open-minded and proposing original views on things usually seduces people, I have noticed many times. First, because being curious you allow to talk about a multitude of diverse subjects. But also because in doing so, you share your knowledge, your discoveries with those around you.

Nowadays success lies mainly in the connections we can make between things. And it is the people who ask questions such as “why” or “why not” who will make the most constructive connections.

Taking time to enjoy creative activities is one of the best investments to nurture body and mind.

What is wonderful about improving creativity is that it allows us to learn to look at the world from a different angle. As I said above, being creative is not just about art or music.

It is first and foremost the way we approach life.

In my next article I will give you fresh ideas to boost creativity.

See you soon

Alexandre

source : Parents.com, creativity benefits (french), creativity (french)

 

 

 

 

Case study

During the late 2016 I had the opportunity to give lessons to Adele, a 4 years old girl. I found this case very interesting, and her drawings are awesome. I relate now our story.

Adele at 4 can already have a conversation in English in addition to Russian, her native language. She is quite creative, playful and smart. 

After our first session, she made those two nice drawings alone. During this session we’ve tried to avoid borders/lines in our drawing. It can sound senseless, but it is fundamental.

More and above a new way of drawing, that creates new connexion in our brain. We see fully objects, and not only their contour.

The greatest challenge was to make her understood that the path is far more important then the result. We experienced a lot of fun in this collaboration.

Defined drawing can block young child imagination. These are example that I draw to inspire her. 

This is what she responds. Her drawings are totally full, I usually not expect such at this age.

These drawings were done with 14 days intervals. They look outwardly similar. In the first drawing the house is not rooted, the roof seem heavy and weighing. She asked help to complete it. In the second one she draw herself with her dog, the house is rooted and the roof seems protective. It looks like the house is growing from the top.

Adele overpass some fears by climbing trees.

I am deeply grateful to Adele and Elmira. Thank you

I you want to know more about Creativity benefits

 

 

 

Educational Art

Throughout my childhood, art has always been teaching me a lot. One morning I wanted to know how Art education contributes towards child development. What is this tool which is available to everyone? The sheer number of its’ positive aspects are impressive, and yet it is also seriously underestimated. This therefore, marks the beginning of a great adventure.

The author Robert Fulghum who wrote the best-selling book “Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” said that if you go to any kindergarten and ask, “How many of you here can draw?, almost all children will raise their hands. If you ask, “How many of you can sing? All hands would rise again. “And what would happen if you did not know the words? , ‘’We would do it’’ , the children would reply. “How many of you can dance?” All hands would rise again. The young child at the Kindergarten shows us that the human being is an artist. It is part of our essential nature, that we are indeed creators. Art is for the child therefore is a most vital element.

The Centre for the Developing Child of Harvard University, demonstrated that the human brain creates a major part of its neuronal connections during the early years of its growth. What a great gift it would be to offer to a child the means to develop by expressing himself/herself fully and freely. To explore his/her abilities and become aware of their potential and live life with greater depth from an early age. Art is not only a vital element for the child, it is also vital for education.

The Artistic Organizations are very clear today. If one looks at a publication that was issued by the National Committee of the State Legislators: Reinventing the Wheel: A Design for Student Achievement in the Twentieth Century, there are an impressive number of positive aspects that the “experts” of Art Education provide. These includes:

1) Art can integrate all areas in a school.

2) Art offers the possibility of new ways of evaluating students.

3) Art excites the learners and keeps them in school. (Studies show that dropout levels decrease with the number of art courses taken by students.)

4) Art promotes a perception of an enlightened development.

5) Art helps creative problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking skills.

6) Art helps promote self-discipline, self-esteem and self-awareness.

7) Art stimulates co-operative learning and helps multicultural understanding.

The Department of Labour reports that in 2013, 80% of the jobs available in the United States are those which didn’t exist in 2002. This trend could only change with the influx of new technologies. Skills such as adaptability, creativity, problem solving, collaboration, and observation – all developed by the arts – should be considered as fundamental parts in the education of tomorrow.

sources: Waldorflibrary, Center on the developing child, Harvard Universities

Art, imagination and creativity

Let’s begin to glimpse the role of imagination and creativity within the educational art by using a basic example of a young child and how this can be a factor in the development of this child.

The definition of education varies little from person to person. Art, on the other hand, is personal . Ask a Renaissance artist what art is, he will reply: “beautiful and refined”. This term has constantly evolved over the centuries. From building your house to how you lay your plate. Art surrounds us. It can be considered our personal touch in every one of our actions. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are all artists.

Every human being has his own imagination. A child decides to scatter his food on the table. He can use his spoon, his fingers or even his mouth … His imagination will determine his way in achieving his ends.

Imagine (and yes we also have the right) that this same child decides to pour soup or stew in his glass. With so-called basic ingredients, he creates his own preparation. -A child picks colour pencils and paper, he/she decides to draw. In the end, the pencils and the paper are still there and a drawing which he/she created. He/she uses these materials to express their creative imagination. It creates value and something novel.

A creative being will never find a dead end. Even in the most difficult situations, his creativity will allow him to imagine the solutions and how to set them up. Being creative is the opposite of incompetent. Creativity is a muscle that needs to be trained daily from a young age. The sooner a child becomes aware of his/her creativity, the more they will be able to develop it.

sources:creativity(french), Waldorf and neuroscience

Who am I ?

My name is Alexandre, I decided to put my interest in children development.
I grew up in Provence, South of France near Marseille. I studied at Avignon’s Waldorf school from 3 to 14 years old. Ever since I was very young I have been passionate about art.
My mother is a Waldorf kindergarden teacher, and she passed on her affection for little children to me. At this moment, I am participating at the Limassol Waldorf School with my father Sehil. And it has become clear for myself that I have to share my passion for art and education.
I believe that all children have an immense potential of creation and imagination. It’s our responsibility as adults to bring them the environment to express their imaginative creativity.
You may have noticed that words may restrict the self expression of a child. Give  him/her a paper and a block crayon and you give him/her the opportunity to express far more of his/her creativity. I worked in an art club in Limassol for 3 months, and I am in link with a professional art therapist and Waldorf teacher in Paris.

Through this blog, I would like to introduce you the benefits of art for the child development and to give you resources, so that your child can benefit, by simple tutorial to realize at home. I share my experience as a Waldorf student, assistant kindergartner and art presenter. This blog is the fruit of my researches (scientific studies and own experiences) and are constantly updated.

As a person from France it’s challenging for me to share my experience in english but it is a personal choice, and I know that my english needs improvement (it’s also constantly updated).