Easy To Use Resources For Creative Young Minds: A Sneak Peek Into Our New Curriculums.

At last Steve and I have created some art and music books for you parents to use and learn at your own home!  We often have people asking us for ideas that they can use with their kids for art or music.  Finally we've got some practical ideas and guidance for you to use not only with your kids, but for you to use and learn from as well.

Introducing Art lessons for Kids, a step by step guide to teaching art lessons for your kids.  There are 8 weeks of lessons and in it you will see a diversity of art lessons, a complete list of materials, art games that kids love, and even my favourite snacks to serve.  We get our hands in all kinds of fun materials from clay to paint to learning sketching.  The kids will have opportunity to express their own creativity as well as learn skills along the way.  These are all lessons I have personally done with kids and have found to be fun and helpful for teaching children.

Steve has been teaching children and adults guitar lessons for years.  A few years ago he wrote Guitar Made Easy,  a teaching book to assist his guitar students in learning the basics of technique, chords, theory, and a number of other topics.   He's used this very method successfully with all his beginner students over the years.  At last he is making it available to purchase.  Even if you have never played guitar, this is a step by step guide that is easy for the beginner to learn with.  With his colourful pictures you will be able understand his explanations with ease.
Check out the photos below for a sneak peek into our new books.  They are selling for $20 each and you can purchase them on our website.

Happy Creating!!

Trish

10 Great Ways to Create A Culture of Creativity With Your Kids

Recently I had the opportunity to speak at a homeschoolers conference and share a bit about coaching an artistic heart in your kids.  As I prepared and gathered information on this subject, I realized it really was about creating a creative culture.  So today I've decided to share a few things I have learned and discovered along the way.

1. Creativity really starts with YOU!  Even if you think you are not creative, I beg to differ.  There is something inside of you that is creative in nature.  It may be buried deep down inside or perhaps it may look differently than you think.   The attitude you carry about yourself and what you can and cannot do speaks volumes to your children.  So I would say use your words wisely and don't put yourself down or your creative abilities.  Rather, be willing to try new things and see what it is you like.

2. Incorporate a creative space in your home.  Find a space that is not tucked away in a dark corner, but somewhere with light and that would be inspiring.  As I am sure you already know, if you have little ones, they want to be where you are.  I personally have had to make a space in my kitchen and empty out a nearby closet for art supplies.

3. Have an art caddy full of your favourite art supplies.  Have these readily available and the kids will use them much more and you just might as well!  On my art caddy I have some things that are a must in our home (liquid watercolours, markers, oil pastels, glue, glitter, acrylic paint, watercolour paper, pencils and stamps).  DIVERSITY is great!



4. Invest in a sketchbook for you and your children.  Honestly, being able to just doodle for 10 minutes a day has made such a big impact in my creativity.  I also find that my children love to get their sketch books out and do the same.  Sometimes they will draw pictures from something they have just watched on TV or something that they see.  It's a great way to encourage creativity throughout the day.

5. Speak to your kids about their artwork.  Don't just assume you know what they are drawing or painting.  Instead ask them to tell you about their painting.  I also suggest that you be specific in saying what it is you like about their artwork.  If it's the colours, or the lines they used, the uniqueness that they show in their drawing, then make sure to tell them.

6. Encourage their style.  I could do a whole other post on this topic alone.  For now I will just say to help them develop their style by seeing what it is they like about their art, looking at other artists work they like,  and daily doodling without any preconceived ideas about what they should draw. Encouraging their uniqueness.  Look for their personality traits in their creativity.

7. Take time as a family to create together.  The kids love this and you may find yourself smiling too! Do family drawings and paintings together where everyone adds their own flavour.  Pick a project that you could all do and even add storytelling or music into the mix.

8. Put out drawing prompts for your kids to get inspired (I did a post on this in the past).  Some ideas you could try are to glue googley eyes to paper and have them finish the picture,  place their toys out for them to sketch, start a picture and have them finish it,  or have an inspirational wall with inspiring pictures for them to incorporate in their drawings or paintings.



9. Create with the season you are in!  I love that we are approaching spring and summer because there are so many creative things you can do outside.  From creating a really colourful doodle garden, to gathering and painting sticks, painting stepping stones that tell a story, to making an imaginary land with cardboard boxes under a big tree. (hmmm this is topic to blog on more!)

10. Display your kids artwork!  Somewhere as we get older, we can lose that excitement of wanting everyone to see what we've just created.  As a kid, you can't hang up your artwork fast enough.  As we get older that changes and we don't want anyone to see what we just did.  I think that's really sad. It's all part of a journey and what you and your child create is an expression of you on that day and time.  So I say display!  Have things such as a wire to hang artwork on, frames, cork boards, a clipboard wall filled with artwork, or make some of the artwork into a journal for keepsakes to look back on.  I only wish I had a journal like that, that I could look back on and see what I had done as a little girl.  Celebrate the creativity!

So there are just a few things that you can do to create a culture of creativity. ! I hope you enjoy and happy creating!!!

Trish

Inspiring You And Your Kids Through the Creative Power of the Sketchbook!

I love to take time each day to draw in my sketchbook.  Except my sketches are more like whimsical doodles.  I have found that taking 15 minutes a day to doodle has really changed my creativity and helped me come into my own style.  So I wanted to pass this simple exercise onto my kids since they already love to draw.   With the numerous papers of their drawings all over the house,  I had to do something to keep track of them all.   A sketchbook seemed like a logical idea since it keeps all of their wonderful creations in one place.  So recently we purchased bound sketchbooks for the kids and I am encouraging them to use their new books.  

How do you inspire sketches/doodles for you and your kids to add to your sketchbooks?  Here are a few thoughts.

1.  Doodle:  I normally doodle without any kind of expectation of what to draw.  I just make lines and shapes and don't really pay much attention to what I am drawing, I just see what comes out on the page.   I love this because it has taken all the pressure off to try to draw something really great.  When I'm finished I'm often amazed to see what I find in my doodles.  Characters with little stories to tell, and sometimes even reflections of what I currently am going through.  Somedays I add colour with watercolours or markers and it brings even more imagination out!   I find that for kids, when you ask them to doodle they will often begin to draw pictures.  So to get them out of this mode I take them through something called taking your pen for a workout.  I explain that your pen is going to workout today and sometimes it is walking, running, jumping, twirling and so on.  They love it and begin to naturally doodle.  We then fill the lines with colours.  It's important when doing doodling that you don't erase your lines.  Just go with what you draw and don't worry about making any mistakes.  I love to doodle in black tip markers.

2. Sketch from your imagination:  I find this is the most common one my kids do.  At ages 2,4 and 6 they haven't had any formal art lessons on how to draw.   I just let them create and draw what comes to mind.   I will often find my son drawing images from his favourite movie.   My six year old draws lots of pictures of her family.   My two year old loves to draw with tons of colour.   They will naturally have things in their heads that they like to draw.   At this age, I don't worry about trying to correct them or train them on how to draw, but rather let them have fun!   As for me, I too love to draw from my imagination and have found that it is a skill I have had to develop over time.

 

  

3.  Sketch an object:  Again, with having young kids I don't tell them that we are going to draw this object on the table but rather I set up clues of things for them to draw.   I may place a toy or a flower on the table and begin to sketch it myself.  Usually if my six year old sees this, she too begins to do the same.   My four year old may do this too if it is something that peeked his interest such as Toothless from the movie How To Train Your Dragon.

There are some simple things to do when opening your sketchbook!   I want to leave you with a challenge this week!  The family sketchbook challenge.  I recommend that each member of your family that is participating whether one or 5 purchases a brand new sketch book and takes about 15 minutes a day to sketch or doodle.   Let me know how it goes and I would love to take a peek at what comes out in your sketchbooks if you want to post pics! 

                                

One last thing,  I would recommend a sketch book with a coil ring for yourself, and a bound sketchbook for younger kids if you want to keep all their art in one place.  If you are going to use markers or watercolours,  I really love mixed media sketch books since you can use all kinds of media on it.   For my kids, I just got simple hardcover sketchbooks that they couldn't easily rip the pages out of!  

Happy sketching!

Trish

10 Inspiring Ways To Get Creativity Flowing In Your Kids

Sometimes you need a little inspiration and help in order to get your kids to create something new.  So today I am talking about finding creative props that can help get the creative juices flowing.  I know that many times if I just hand my children a piece of paper and a box of crayons they will usually start colouring something.  But sometimes I like to stretch them a bit in their creativity, yet still have them create that they really like.  So here are a few ideas to help create new projects.

1. Googly eyes:  Paste googly eyes on a surface of some sort.  It can just be a blank piece of paper, a wood board, or even a canvas.  Tell them then to create a face or a fun creature or animal around the goggly eyes.  My kids loved this and some really cool art was created as well!  We even gave their goggly eyed creatures names, which then turned into a time of story telling because a picture tells a story and they just created characters for a story.  If you do this with a group of kids, they can collaborate and make a story together using all of their characters as a part of the story.

2. Team work:  I begin with some designs or doodles on a canvas and then get my kids to add to it. I allow them to have the freedom to add what they want and use their own unique style.  It's awesome to see different styles coming together.

3. Pictures from a magazine:  Paste pieces of pictures from a magazine onto a blank paper and then have them finish the picture.  This was a fun one for the kids to do and they came up with some great ideas!

4. Finger print doodles:  Make finger prints on paper by pressing their thumbs on a stamp pad and transferring them to your paper.  Doodle around the finger prints turning them into doodle pictures.  This was so much fun and we made all kinds of little doodle creatures!

5. Funky object:  Have them find an object in the room and draw it.  Then have them create a funky creature from it.  I got this idea from a really cool book called The Ice Cream Coot And Other Rare Birds by Arnold Label.

6. Play dough and toys: When all else fails, bring out the play dough!  My son loves using it while playing with his trains, and makes his own tracks for them.

7. What's in the house?:  Using a cardboard box, get the kids to paint and make a house (adding doors and windows) and then have them create objects to go in their house.

8. My colourful pallet:  Hand them a canvas of white paper that has random shapes of watercolour pencil drawn on it.  Have them add water to the shapes with a brush and create a picture incorporating all the paint shapes.

9.  Drawing pictures from Numbers:  This is fun to do.  Start by drawing out a number and then see if you can create it into a picture of something.



10.  Fill in the Frame:  Draw a picture of different frames and then have your children fill in the frame.  We have chalkboard walls in our home, so we use those.  However if you don't have this available to you, you can do it on any large piece of paper as well.

So there you have it.  10 great ideas to help you get the creative juices flowing in your kids!  Hope you are feeling inspired, and have fun creating!

Trish

The Art of Passing Creativity On!

Pass the paint.  It's time to pass on some creativity!

Did you know that you are creative?  Yes you!  Perhaps you already knew that, but maybe some of you never saw yourself as creative.  I believe that everyone is creative.  It just looks very different from one person to the next.  I have come to realize that creativity is like any other talent and it is something that grows and develops the more you use it.  I find that many people want to do something creatively but often don't know where to start!  So I feel that as a person who loves to create, I can help create opportunities to do so.

When I first started painting, it really was about me and me learning and painting in my little corner. However, as I developed more of that ability, I soon realized that I needed to share what I have learned with others so they too can have an opportunity to develop what is inside of them.  I am by no means an expert and there are always people that are more advanced in their abilities than I am, but there are always people that are less advanced as well.  So in helping others, I start at the likely place of helping those with less experience and ability.  This can change in a hurry, as I have found that some people just need a starting place and in only a short time are beyond my ability!  This sometimes can be a test of the heart as you watch others goes beyond you!  However, I do believe that we should encourage this!  I take it as a great honour to be able to impart what I have to someone to only see them go beyond me!  Who knows the creative destiny that may be awaiting them!

The joy of collaborating together teaches us so much!  Lucy and I are working on a heart.  I love mixing our styles together.

I recently got asked to attend my friend Rachael's business, Social Art!  It is a business where anyone can come out and paint.  They receive step by step instruction from Rachael and at the end of the night they have a masterpiece!  The setting in which this takes place is in a restaurant where you are able to order food or drinks.  It really is a great night out!  I looked around as I saw a variety of people out for the event.  Some older, some young.  Both men and women.  Some had never painted before while others had more experience!  But what I loved about the night was that Rachael was taking her gifting and ability and using it to bless others.  She was taking the time to impart what she has learned over the years to others.  It was really amazing to see as so many left encouraged and I believe even wowed at what they had painted!  All they needed was an opportunity!  I know for myself, one painting leads to another!

Rachael and I at one of her events.

I realize not everyone is a teacher or likes speaking in large groups, but the point is  to pass on the gift of creativity.  When I first was introduced to paint it was by a lady in South Africa who had been fabric painting.  She invited me into her home and shared all of her paints and supplies with me.  She gave me an opportunity.  It wasn't so much about imparting what she had learned to me as much as it was about imparting the resources and materials she had.  It was the beginning of my creative journey.

Kristyn has been a great helper by passing on creativity with kids in my art class.

As important as it is to pass on creativity, it is also important to keep receiving creativity.  So as you give out, make sure you also find people that you too can learn from as well.  That may be through online tutorials, lessons, or just watching those that have gone before you!  Do it so that you can keep growing in your ability to impart and bless the world in a greater way!

Happy creating, and remember...YOU ARE CREATIVE!

Trish

The kids learn from one another as they create together!