I love art and have hopefully instilled that love in my three boys, one of whom is in an art related field. I’ve written before encouraging parents to listen for the language in art with their children.
Recently, I sat out in the garage next to the easel and paints as a three-year-old painted one picture after another. He narrated them for me which was so interesting. The story changed as colors mixed and lines ran into each other. Listening to this picture’s production, I was told that the orange was a giraffe, the green was a T-Rex and the blue was a big wave coming. Here are some ways to get language from art:
Set out the art supplies and watch your child create. Encourage her to tell you about what she is making or has finished
- Display the “picture” so there can be a continued dialogue about what she made
- have her illustrate a story after dictating it to you or writing it herself, encourage detail
- sit with her while she is painting or drawing and have her “tell the story” as she creates
- just sit and listen and you will be treated to her creativity
