Warning! This Might Just Turn Your Child Into A Pint Sized Picasso! Sep 05 '03    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Toys LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Learning Table From $9 LeapFrog LeapPad Explorer Tablet (Pink) From $240 The Bottom Line Combining education and entertainment is a sure fired way to boost your childs knowledge level, provide them with a great outlet and create one of a kind masterpieces! What are the best ways of allowing your child to express his or her views, emotions and feelings? Until they are old enough to voice their opinions clearly or indulge in creative writing – arts and crafts are the best ways to see what your kids are thinking. When my boys were younger they loved to paint, draw and went through coloring books like there was no tomorrow. As they got older the thrill of completing a coloring book or finger painting died off but they still get the creative urge from time to time. With so many different products on the market, how can you pick something that will be entertaining, safe, durable and fun for all ages? Thankfully there are a lot of options to choose from when picking out coloring and painting products, all it takes it a little research, knowing a good deal when you see it and listening to what your child has to say about it. Without a doubt the biggest names in the arts and craft scene are Crayola and RoseArt but if you think these are the only options, you are dead wrong. While I choose Crayola products most of the time, there are a lot of smaller manufacturers whose products are just as good, and in some cases better. It's a hit or miss thing with crayons and paints, some work better than others and if you haven't guessed it by now, kids judge things differently than adults. You might look at a paint set and think that the colors are putrid and they can't stop raving about them. Kids see things at their face value; price, manufacturer, durability and safety aren't their concern - they just want to have fun. You may have to go through some bad apples to find the ones that are the sweetest, but when you do, the sour and rotten ones fade from your memory – same thing goes for paints and crayons. The ones that suck, were wastes of money and drove you insane are nothing but distant memories when you come across a product or brand that your child falls in love with. The Basics Before you start looking for paint sets and boxes of crayons there are a few things that you have to keep in mind. If you have a younger child your primary concern should be that everything you are using is non-toxic. This information is usually located on the back or bottom of the product, if you can't find the words "non-toxic" on the item you can call the manufacturer and ask them about it. In most cases you will find that anything geared for the younger crowd will be free of anything that could possibly hurt them. Safety is the number one thing and if all this sounds like an obsessive / compulsive rant - think of it this way, would you rather give the products the once over and know that they are safe or risk your childs well being thinking they are safe? Here’s my list of things to check for: Paintbrushes: Make sure there are no metal bands on the end, these can come apart over time and shred skin. Give the bristles a good tug; if more than a few come out, it’s time to replace it. Look at the end of the brush to make sure there isn’t a sharp point or something that could hurt a child if they poked themselves with it. Plastic paintbrushes like Crayola 8 Pack are great for younger kids and have an assortment of sizes. Wooden handled brushes are a little hard to keep clean when using them so if your kids are like mine [neat freaks], plastic is the best pick. Paper: You will want to have an assortment of paper on hand, everything from thin airmail style paper [great for making stained glass or mosaic projects] to large sheets of poster board. The back to school sales are a great time to stock up on paper items and as long as you keep them out of direct sunlight, there’s little chance of them fading. Some examples of great picks: construction paper, neon index cards, colored multi packs of printer paper, velum and to sow off the finished products, Art Framers. Crayons: If you want to have your head spin, take a stroll down the school supply section and look at all the different options that are available when it comes to picking out crayons. Washable, glitter, chunky style, erasable, coloring sticks and of course the character ones like Bob The Builder, Spongebob Square Pants, Scooby-Doo and Power Puff Girls. Depending on the age of your child, you might be able to get away with the standard sized 24 to 48 sized packs of crayons but remember to make sure they are non-toxic. Looking for the coolest crayon organizer? Check out the http://www.epinions.com/content_98212613764 . Paint Sets: Again, there are a lot of options available; water colors, poster paints, books that have the paint already on the pages and only need water to blend them, finger paints and blo-pens. The most popular are the poster paint and water colors since these can be used on almost any type of paper, clean up easily, are non-toxic and inexpensive. The poster paints are usually sold in sets but art and craft stores usually carry the larger sized bottles individually. Packaged Sets: This is one of the best ways to give a child a good start when exploring arts and crafts. Packaged sets can be basic like the Crayola Tub of Fun or themed to an animal assortment, cartoon series [RoseArt Pokemon Activity Adventure Desk] or season [Crayola Halloween Boo Bucket]. Be sure to look at the suggested age range for the product and look over the contents to make sure they are safe and age appropriate, I came across one art kit that was labeled as safe for kids five and older but inside were point tipped scissors. Coloring Books: Just because a coloring book is beat up doesn’t mean that it can’t be recycled. These are great sources of drawings and illustrations that can be cut out and pasted on poster board, used to make a photo book or for making “kid style” cards. If you want to incorporate some educational themes you can pick up blank notebooks or sketch books for kids to use. If they are going to be gluing things in the books, go for something with thick pages so they don’t warp. Colored Pencils: These are usually great for older kids to use but some of the newer styles pencils are thick and easy for little hands to hold. If you really want to go all out, check out different styles of water color pencils, these are used just like regular colored pencils but take on a whole new look when a little water is added to them. Some kids just don’t like crayons and having to rip the paper wrappers off them, if this is something that you can identify with, colored pencils are the way to go. Miscellaneous Items: Some items you might want to have on hand for your little artist include washable glue sticks, thick paper towels for cleaning up messes, an old oversized t-shirt or art smock, blunt tip scissors, hole puncher or three hole punch if they are making hand made books, large erasers, a large plastic ruler, sponges to use for stamping when painting, flat water bowls for cleaning brushes and newspaper to line tables or play areas to prevent a complete mess when painting. Making It Fun Let’s face it, kids either like to sit down and color or paint or they don’t. My brood get the urge from time to time but for the most part they aren’t into the whole craft thing. The best piece of advice I have is let them have fun. So what if they color a horse pink and a house green? It’s all about exploring things, finding out what types of products they like to work with and stepping out of the parenting shoes to give them some creative freedom. For the longest time I had to fight the urge to rip coloring books out of my sons hands and scream “Tigger is not blue!”, now that they have grown out of the age where coloring books were “fun” I find myself longing for the ‘good old days’. If you constantly hover over them and correct them chances are they’ll become less and less interested in expressing themselves artistically. The only time you should step in and gently correct them is when you are working on an educational activity. Some of the best memories I have of birthday parties are the gifts that the kids would make for me, especially the cards. Offer me a handmade card or a Hallmark and I’ll take the homemade one every time. Card don’t just have to be for birthdays, they can be for holidays, “I’m Sorry”, new baby .. whatever. These are great projects that kids can have a lot of fun with, and it saves you the time and expense of picking out overpriced pre printed cards. It doesn’t really matter what the finished product looks like, what kind of paper it’s on or if the words are misspelled – it’s filled with love and that’s all that matters. Envelopes can usually be purchased at card stores for a penny or two, these are usually the left overs that they receive from the manufacturers to replace shelf worn envelopes. Most card stores will just hand you a stack of them if you ask, others will charge you a small fee. This is a great way to top off the card since kids can decorate the envelopes as well. Adding An Educational Twist You can supplement your childs regular school work with fun, creative and educational projects using paints, crayons, colored pencils or any other medium that they feel comfortable with. For younger kids, this is a great way to get them started with the alphabet, numbers, counting, phonics and basic words. You can take basic coloring books that have letters, pictures and basic words and make them into a small dictionary or picture book. If you want to get really creative you can use clip art and print up your own pages. While it will probably cost you the same amount of money when you factor in the cost of the ink, paper and time, you will end up with a personalized book or project. Working with both crayons and paints allows a child to learn basics like colors and shapes and once they’ve mastered that they can move on to drawing animals, people and things that they are familiar with. I fondly remember the front of the refrigerator being covered with drawings and paintings and now that the boys have grown out of it, I really miss it. These are great things to tuck away in memory or scrapbooks, things that they’ll look back at in twenty years and remember as an extremely fun part of their life. Even if you don’t incorporate a little education into arts and crafts, it is a great time to spend with your child. Who knows, you might just be priming the next Picasso or Van Gough. Safety Concerns The main thing where safety is concerned is to look at the items and products and judge them according to your childs level. The age recommendations are there as a general suggestion but there are a lot of products that are more than suitable for kids that are under the age requirement and some products that might be better off for them when they are a little older. You are the best judge of your childs capabilities so take the age suggestions with a grain of salt; don’t ignore them completely but if your child has been working with safety scissors for a while and isn’t five years of age, that shouldn’t stop you from purchasing a pair if they are suggested for the 6 and older crowd. Knowing the manufacturers helps when picking out supplies. Crayola products are almost all non-toxic, while this doesn’t mean that they are edible, a child won’t get sick or need medical attention if they start nibbling on the crayons or licking the markers. Parental supervision is highly suggested with younger kids so they don’t get into a habit of munching on the supplies. I am sure a lot of mothers will identify with my next statement – the worst thing that will happen if a child eats one of the Crayola crayons is a rather colorful experience on the potty. Since there is a lot of wax in crayons, when a child ingests them they melt a little and are passed with bowel movements. Unless your child ate an entire box and is having trouble passing them, there’s no real reason for concern. You can contact your doctor just as a precaution but I’m sure they’ll tell you to keep an eye on their bathroom activities to make sure they are passing them. On a personal note, if your child does eat crayons please let care givers and others that may be watching them know about this. There’s nothing more shocking than changing a diaper or pull-up and seeing a “rainbow assortment”. Just because an art kit, paint set or box of crayons are packaged for use by children doesn’t mean that they are safe for kids. Small things like pencil sharpeners, rulers and erasers that are often packaged with art kits are usually cheap and are prone to breaking which could lead to an accident, cut of injury. Periodically checking over the supplies will ensure a happy, fun and safe time for all. Things to look for are worn brushes, crayons that are too short to be sharpened, paint containers that have stripped lids, rough or cracked cases on paint containers, loose pieces of lead from colored pencils and staples that may have come loose from coloring books. When cleaning up make sure you separate the adult products like scissors, hole punches and related products from your childs supplies. Name Brands Vs. No Name Products Most of the time you’ll see a small price difference between the brand name supplies and the “no name” or store varieties. It’s been my experience that paying a little more initially for products that will last actually save you money in the long run. If you pay $4.00 for a box of Crayola poster paints you are going to get a solid product that doesn’t separate or clump. Pick up a cheap set that costs $2.50 and you’ll find yourself replacing them every few months. That doesn’t mean that all the no name products are garbage, not in the least. Some are just as good as the Crayola and RoseArt items. If you are looking at a large art or paint kit and it isn’t a brand that you are familiar with, do some snooping first to see what other people have to say about it. When your child has grown out of the Crayola brand, there are a lot of other options available. Prang is a name that I’ve grown to trust over the years and their products are of the highest quality but can be expensive. Pentel, most popular for their line of office products, also produces a variety of markers and general art supplies for the older kids. Companies like BIC, PaperMate and Sanford have also started to branch out into markers, colored pencils and general art supplies. To check out different manufacturers, what they have to offer, money saving coupons, promotions and free samples, feel free to visit their official websites: Crayola – www.crayola.com Handy Art - www.handyart.com Pentel – www.pentel.com Plaid - www.plaidonline.com Prang – www.prang.com RoseArt – www.roseart.com Sakura - www.gellyroll.com Utrech Paints - www.utrechtart.com The Bottom Line Picking out supplies like crayons and paints isn’t brain surgery but a little care and concern never hurts. Getting familiar with all that is on the market, knowing the prices and stocking up when you come across a great sale will help you and your child have a well stocked art supply so when the creative bug strikes – you’ll be prepared. Listen to what your child has to say about a product, if they like it, what they hate about it and what they would do to make it better. Through their feedback you can pick out products for them that they’ll really enjoy using and won’t end up being a waste of money. Larger paint sets and crayon assortments might seem like a big investment so hold off on those until your child shows some real enthusiasm for them. Don’t be afraid to let them get dirty, that’s half the fun of creating a masterpiece. If things get too out of control, just do what I do, put them in the driveway and hose them down. OK, I only had to do that one when things got a little out of control and finger painting turned into a full on paint war, but looking back on it, I can’t recall ever laughing so hard. There are so many things that can be done with paints and crayons, allowing your child to have the freedom to explore them is one of the greatest things you can do as a parent. In this technological age where computers are the norm, some kids don’t ever get the change to break open a new box of crayons or stick their fingers into paint pots. Computer art programs are nice, but they’ll never be able to match the thrill of the hands on experience. If you have a child that is into coloring or painting you know the joy that comes from it, seeing them start off with a blank piece of paper and watching them create something using their imagination. That’s what it’s all about – letting them express themselves, allowing them to tap into their own little world and showing you what’s on their minds. As always, thanks for the visit … ^V^ Freak ^V^ © 2003 Freak369

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