Understanding and Encouraging Your Child's Art : How to Enhance Confidence in Drawing, Ages 2-12

Your child's art is taped to the bedroom wall and all over your refrigerator. You just love it, and you are even proud of it. But it's hard to figure out what to say when you look at some of those drawings. "Oh yes, that's a very nice three-legged spider with a feather coming out of its . . . um . . . head." How can you make your child feel good about his or her originality and nurture a continuing interest in art?Understanding and Appreciating Your Child's Art teaches you not only how to really see the art in your child's drawings but also how to talk about art. You'll learn ways and words that will help any child develop confidence and, more important, a general appreciation of art.Mia Johnson organizes youthful artwork into nine stages of artistic development: scribbles, shapes, designs, early pictures, scenes, separate objects, realism, cartoons, and action. You'll enjoy being able to recognize each stage in your child's drawings and encourage his or her progressive self-expression.Every stage in your child's artistic development is precious - it will never come again. Help yourself feel more confident and qualified to assist your child's creativity.Understanding and Appreciating Your Child's Art is full of practical suggestions like ideas for drawing games, tips on displaying drawings, and ways to keep your child's interest from waning too quickly. Mia Johnson has structured this book so you can skim through quickly to find drawings that match your child's drawing level. Then you can read about drawings done by children younger or older than yours to see where your child has been and where he or she is likely to be going.Best of all, each section ends with answers to questions that you or your child may ask. A book that is written in response to the questions of parents and teachers, Understanding and appreciating your child's art helps you support your child's creative spontaneity.