Process-Based Art Exploration Generates Creativity

As soon as a little one can pick up a crayon or stick his finger in paint he can begin exploring art media. The years that follow, until about kindergarten age, should be filled mostly with process-based (or open-ended) exploration of media. It's fun to have project-based creations, like the turkeys we made at Thanksgiving or the snowflakes we created not too long ago, but primarily these types of art can limit a child's creativity. The moment you begin instructing a child on how to use an art tool, you begin limiting his possibilities. The moment you begin showing him how to draw a tree or a person, you begin forming judgments in his mind about how his art is supposed to look.

But sit down with him with an art medium to just play and the process will generate creativity. It will give you the chance to connect, to watch your child grow and witness his imagination first hand. He may teach you new ways to create with the medium and explore new facets of your creative side.