Art activities are in important part of my family child care program. Children love to draw, paint, play with playdough, and make designs with scraps of paper and glue. During the day, I set out crayons, paper, blunt-tipped scissors, waterproof markers, and playdough for the children to use during play time. I also plan a special art activity every day such as finger painting, making collages with glue and paper, or weaving.
When the children are using art materials, I am interested in giving them a chance to express their own ideas. I know that this is more important for their development than having them fill in a coloring book or make a particular product. I encourage children to pull and poke playdough, paint an entire paper with different colors, or just see how it feels to move a crayon around and around the paper. For the older children who are more interested in projects, I set aside many materials for them to use.
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