22 Jun 4 New ideas to enjoy Art and Craft with kids

Expert Bea Farrons has 4 tips to teach kids it’s OK to make mistakes using art and craft

Encouraging children to be at ease with making mistakes can be a wonderful lesson in resilience and can help to build their confidence.  One of the great ways to encourage children how to handle mistakes is through art and craft.

“When it comes to art and craft, there are no mistakes, there is just the simple joy of creativity, self-expression and being in the moment.” says Bea.

She shares her tips to encourage children to explore mistakes through art and craft:

1. Free flow – place art and craft materials on the table and encourage your children to mix and match different materials, e.g., draw an outline with paint, colour it with felt tips, and add some stickers…the more, the merrier. By going with the flow, they can enjoy a multitude of different mediums without focusing on the outcome. By being in the moment, it takes away the need to create ‘something’. It doesn’t matter what the end result is – it’s the journey that counts!
2. Imagination counts – if your child has a vision in mind, maybe they are drawing a cat or a flower, for example, and it doesn’t work out. Show them how they can turn it into something else. Using imagination can be such a fun way to play with art and help them relax and feel confident with their unique abilities.
3. Tools for the job – pre-schoolers and toddlers are experts at making mistakes – just watch them splash the paint about! Unfortunately, this happy attitude is often replaced with anxiety once they start school. My tip is to make sure they have the right equipment to help them. I personally love Frixion pens because the ink is erasable, so they can rub out any mistakes and start again. It gives them the confidence to try, especially when starting out with handwriting.
4. Share and learn – one of the great things about sitting around the table and getting messy with art and craft is (and this goes for children of all ages, even teenagers), that everyone is task-focussed, looking down, absorbed in the creativity of the moment. This harmonious, non-confrontational environment takes away the intensity of face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball conversation. This is a great time to chat. Share your own personal experiences of mistakes you have made in your life and how you have learned from them.  Storytelling and sharing insights can really assist in children understanding that mistakes are a natural part of life and can help make us stronger and sometimes a little bit wiser!

Bea has developed a range of fun mistake-making and correcting craft activities.
For more kids’ craft ideas, Bea: @_simply_bea_ on Instagram.  Or using ideas here using Frixion erasable pens.