In the last post, I wrote about the difference between discipline and punishment, an important distinction for positive parenting.
Take it Apart!
If you’d like to promote creativity, curiosity, language, small motor skills, and scientific problem-solving in your young children, you don’t need to buy something new. In fact, you need something old.
Kitchen Prints
Real artists see beauty in the ordinary. Take your average kitchen utensils for example. Utilitarian and, well, ordinary. But if you look very closely they are full of different edges and shapes, patterns and textures. Gather a few kitchen instruments for some kitchen prints! (It’s best if these utensils can be devoted to art and sensory activities. Most washable paints will wash off of utensils, but if you can, it’s best to have separate sets.) I found interesting prints by using spatulas, pastry blenders, potato mashers, whisks, cups, pizza cutters, and even forks.
When doing prints, I like to present the paint on an old plastic lid with a ridge. On top of the lid I place several thicknesses of moistened paper towels. Then I spread a thin, even layer of paint on top of the toweling. This creates something like an ink pad. Try it out a few times to make sure that there is enough paint to print, but not so much that you lose the detail of your object in goopy drips of paint.
