When children show us one of their creations, they are usually trying to tell us something, not create a work of art. And they will get the most encouragement when we show them that we care about what they are trying to say.

If we ask them, children are often willing to tell us what their pictures mean to them, and we, in return, can tell children how their pictures make us feel. If the artwork children create does result in such moments of closeness and sharing, then children are likely to want to do more.

Encouragement and Support

What we have heard from creative people over the years is that their early urges toward unique self-expression were respected and supported by some loving adult in their young lives -- someone who would even let them paint a tree blue if that's what they felt like doing. When a friend of ours was a little boy, he liked to draw and paint a lot. One time he drew a tree and colored it blue, and some grownup said to him, "Why did you color a tree blue? Trees aren't blue!" He didn't draw a tree again for years...not until one of his teachers told him that artists can make things any shape and any color they want.

Our Art Has Value

Each of us has the capacity for "art," but it's unlikely to find expression all by itself. To find it, use it, and make it a lifelong source of joy, a child needs to know that art has value -- if for no other reason than because it's an inseparable part of who each one of us is. Who better than loving child-care providers and parents to get that message across?

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