How I learned to love creating with my kid

painting with my oldest kid.

Creating art with little kids can be a really fun time. It can also be an exercise in patience and letting go. The letting go thing has been the hardest for me. I'm a perfectionist, and it's a problem in my own life. I often have difficulty finishing things because they're not exactly how I want them and I do not want to pass that onto my girls.

Where was I going with that? Oh, letting go. When doing projects with your toddler or preschooler, learn to let go. Making art, especially at this age, is about the process and not the finished product. With that in mind, here is how I go about working projects with my two-year-old daughter:

• I explain the project I have in mind. If we're making coffee filter snowflakes, for example, I tell her that we will be drawing on the coffee filters and cutting them out to look like snow flakes.
• I outline the rules of the project. These are usually rules like not coloring all over the table and not slurping down the salt dough.
  
• I show her all the materials we will be using and I let her explore them before we actually start the project.
  
• I show her how to work with the materials. Right now we do a lot of projects where we glue stuff to paper, usually with a glue stick. I show her what we will be gluing, how to use the glue stick, and how to stick the gluey item to the paper. When we use watercolors, I show her how to dip her brush to get her paints wet, and so on.
  
• I frequently start the same project at the same time as her. I do this for two reasons: one, I won't be tempted to take over when she's not doing it "right" and two, she can see what I'm doing and copy my actions. I also like making stuff :)
  
• I let her have control. If she wants to color all her snowflakes black, so be it. If she wants to color her nose instead of the paper, I'm usually game. Using the materials in "improper" ways is another important part of the learning process.
• Move on if your child doesn't seem interested in the activity.
• Do try things more than once, even if your child doesn't seem interested at first.
• Don't fret and don't stress. Have fun. Laugh. Embrace mess, because you're going to have it.

So there you go. Some tips for making art time an enjoyable time for your child and for you.