Developmentally Appropriate Art Exploration

Art begets writing and writing and reading go hand-in-hand. When children first learn to hold a crayon or a marker, they are taking some of their first steps towards writing. Zero to Three provides a useful overview of the stages in children's artistic development and how these skills promote writing readiness. Just as with other aspects of child development, the ages given are a range and children may reach different stages at different times. Every child follows their own timetable. This information can be helpful in creating process oriented art activities in the library as a program or as a storytime craft experience. View the Learning to Write and Draw article here.

Finished watercolor doodle art project. Photo credit: Sarah Cournoyer

Intent on exploring the art experience. Photo credit: Sarah Cournoyer

More art resources:

Dresser Public Library has an Artsy Smartsy arts-based early literacy program that Tiffany Meyer shared about during the UnStorytime Programming for Preschoolers session at the Wisconsin Library Association's 2014 Conference. View the session slides here.

The National Association for the Education of Young Children has a great article on How Process Art Experiences Support Preschoolers explaining the characteristics of process-oriented art vs. product-oriented art in a bullet-point list including tips, ideas, and further resources.

The Artful Parent has many ideas that translate well into a library setting.