Does every daycare do arts & crafts everyday or every week?
I find it so hard to do arts and crafts with my group. They either are not interested or lose interest fast and I get stuck doing it for all if them. Sometimes simple things can even be too complicated for toddlers in crafts. Besides I am not a very creative artsy crafty person myself. BUTTT I'm sure the parents would want them to do them. In centers I know they do crafts a lot, sometimes everyday.
Is it a bad thing that I do not do a lot of arts and crafts with my kids? I let them do worksheets every so often, coloring pages, and give them construction paper to draw and color on.
For those who do not do a lot of crafts, are there other things you all do with your kids to help with the creative aspect?

Reply

I have open ended art and process art..... It's all about the process not the product....a lot of parents dont understand that..

I will lean an art activity once a week.....today we made crayons

Reply

I do art, like daycare, open ended process/not product art. Even if they are 'supposed' to make it look like something, I just hand them the supplies and they do what they want with it.

What type of arts and crafts are you talking about? My kids LOVE painting, markers, stickers, pasting, cutting paper, I give them prints of their pictures and old paper and they 'scrapbook'.

Reply

I have a younger group so like Daycare most of my art is open ended.

We do art 2x a week, 3 if I'm feeling adventurous but its not product art so much. Like this week we're painting with pipe cleaners and tissue paper collages. The kids have access to crayons, paper, and a few other things so they can create whenever.

I worked in centers for years and got so burnt out on spending hours each week making project art (aka teacher art, well at the places I worked anyway) I refuse to do it now except on special occasions and even then its minimal.

Reply

I have some materials available all the time. (Right now I have 3 and 4 yr olds so that may change when I have younger ones.) I also do planned art every day - generally process art 3-4 days a week but I do some "small motor" (aka parent pleaser, aka craft) things about once a week.

Reply

I do a lot of art, but I love it. Sometimes it is open ended and sometimes a project or craft. I was a graphic design major and I believe there is value in both. If you want to see what we are up to my fb page is www.facebook.com/MrsSteinelsHouse
That being said, it is summer and we have been doing less. Being outside is my number one priority. I also have 2 yr old twins that are a handful!
If you don't do "art" what about playdoh, foam etc. Sidewalk chalk.
I keep a bin of collage materials. I just cut up odds and ends as I have it and pitch it in. I take a piece of construction paper and put glue all over it. THey pick and choose what to put on.

Reply

Thanks for your input!!
I do do something's for them like playdo, bubbles, chalk outside and on chalk board stuff like that, but not actual projects with structure.
I've done stuff like break crayons up and put them between 2 sheets of wax paper and melt it or even melt crayons on paper with a blow dryer, but even something that simple the kids lose interest in.

Reply

I for sure don't do stuff everyday in the summer, we are outside way to much, but I love art, and in the summer I have a different "me" led craft every week, Its fun stuff though that they love, we so far have made bird houses, and after they painted and decorated, I sealed them all with modge podge, we did sand art bottles, I have wooden trains, airplanes, snakes, and little wooden boxes for them to paint and decorate as well, We have super hero capes, butterfly wings, masks, they love all that stuff. so once a week for that stuff, some of it takes a few days to finish, but I have my art open all the time, so my daycare girls and sometimes the boys if they can stop wrestling, can get into all of it anytime they want, I will always pull the paint out for them, but most of the stuff they can grab themselves. There are days the girls have a stack of 15 paintings and projects they have made, I also have a lot of beading materials, so during quiet times, my school agers and preschoolers who didn't fall asleep will make bead bracelets and necklaces, or Fuse beads.

Reply

children do not learn creativity from doing crafts. mostly because they are not doing most of the work nor is there a choice of how to use the materials.

why do they lose interest? because it is a precut craft or a project you have to work with them and they have to wait to do things.

No we do not do art every day but almost everyday we do something, paint, color, markers, cut and glue. stickers. I give them lots of different materiials and they create their own project

We practice writing our names by signing our art work. an artist always signs their work. I also take pictures of the children working Then parents can see what was under the brown.does it matter the child made chocolate? heck they may own a candy company when they grow up LOL

make it easy on your self get rid or craft projects and worksheets. then give the children plain paper and open ended art experiences. They will have more fun, learn to be creative and will participate longer. by the way clean up is part of the experience.

Reply

I do art 1-2 times a week and it's all process art. My kids are all 2.5 and under so we do a lot of painting, chalk, coloring, and they love it! I also will cut out shapes of what we are doing, for instance for a ladybug, I cut out the body and head shape and let them glue them on wherever they wanted and let them put the dots on with paint and their fingers-I consider that process art, most of the time you can't tell what it's supposed to be, but I think it's cuter that way!
I also like to do water art. I give the kids paintbrushes and water and they "paint" various objects-they will "paint" for forever!
They also love to cut paper. My two older kids who are 2.5 can actually cut the paper and I use it to make an art display on my wall. For instance, one child cut pieces of blue paper so I made them the clouds and he also cut some green paper so those pieces are the grass and we put the ladybugs we made flying in between the clouds and grass. And also made worms where they glued potting soil onto brown worm paper and put them in the grass. They whole display on my wall is child made!

Reply

I do the open ended art also. I just do it when I feel like it. So there are spurts when we do it a lot and then not so much.

I usually start with colored pencils because little ones will break crayons at first. Sometimes they will scribble a little but a lot of times they just like to play with the pencils in the pencil box while the older ones are drawing with crayons or pencils. That is fine with me if they just play with the pencils. A few cheap pencil sharpeners are nice so they can pretend to sharpen them or really sharpen them if they are older.

I also start them on stickers as one of the first things. I use those thicker foam ones from the dollar store. I have to peel the backing off at first until they learn how. They enjoy taking them back off the paper as well as putting them on. They also like to stick them all over their arms and even face. Usually I cut a piece of construction paper in half and they put on some stickers. I send that one home. Then I give them the other half and they can put them on and peel them off. That way the parents know we are doing something.

At first we do art in our high chairs so they don't leave the table. Older ones sit at the table.

When we do collages (which isn't too often), I cut a piece of clear contact paper and turn it sticky side up then staple the non sticky side to a piece of construction paper. They stick things on it and then I cover it with another piece. That works well before I let them use glue. I especially like to do a group outdoor one. They run out in the yard and find leaves, etc. to put on it.

Before scissors, we tear paper starting with tissue paper. Usually the easiest thing to start learning to cut is strips of paper. Then it is one snip and something happens.

Sidewalk, chalk, play dough, liquid watercolor (cause it is only one step), stamping, etc. come in when they are ready.

I do something I call 'fake art'. I discovered that ones that are too little still want to hold the things and 'feel' like they are doing it. So I give them glue bottles that are empty or closed and that with a box of pencils seems to make them happy. I buy the sidewalk chalk that looks like eggs in a carton and the little ones just totally LOVE to just keep rearranging them in the carton and carry them around. They barely make a mark though, lol. I call them the "Keeper of the Chalk."

Just some ideas that might make it simpler for you.

Oh and they can 'paint' with a regular house painting brush and a bucket of water outside.

Laurel

Reply

I love this idea! I'm so going to do this from now on! All my dck's are 2.5 and under, but they can still practice "writing" their names!

Reply

I heard that kids that go to centers (here anyways) are made to do art so their parents can see that they did something. I think some are forced to do it.

now that being said, I have a art caddy filled with stuff and all the kids can use it anytime. their favorite thing are old christmas card (the fronts) where they color or write on the back and then put them in envelopes for their parents. Sometimes parents go home with 5 envelopes full of cards lol! Oh their favorite are those peel and stick foam stickers.

Reply

I only do for the holidays and if I know it's a parent's birthday I have their child make a card. Other than that-no. They lose interest pretty quickly too. For St. Patrick's day they had a fruitloop and marshmallow rainbow to do and only I finished mine! They were so cute!!

Reply

During the summer-once or twice a week. During the school year -three to four times per week.

I do about 90% process over product. I do use different shapes and we paint them, use daubers to decorate, stickers, etc.

Example...last week was strawberry week. One day they painted on a strawberry shape with dry unsweetened Kool-aid. It is such a fun, fantastic process! The powder changes from a very light pastel to a bright hue and smells so great! We paint with Kool-aid on all kinds of shapes and it's one of my all time favorite activities.

We also used metallic paint daubers from discount school supply on a large red strawberry shape to represent the seeds. My kids 18 mo to 4 3/4 yrs all enjoyed this.

Also, a really fun, easy, cheap and well loved activity is those dot stickers on paper plates....the little ones do it one way, older kids another. It is great small motor but also a great experience in design, spacing objects, some kids put all the same colors together (math), etc. I also put out star stickers and and ask the older kids to place the star stickers on the dots for more small motor practice. They get completely engrossed and it's all process! Some kids make a spiral, some random, some pile stickers on top of spot.

I did a combo of process art and product art when I taught preschool & kindergarten but really do not like to do elaborate craft projects for child care art.

Reply

My kiddos all have crayon boxes with crayons, markers, glue, glue sticks, scissors, mini staplers and colored pencils in.

I have an endless supply of paper (all sizes/colors) as well as a HUGE collection of collage items.

The kids are free to do art any time they choose to.

Every once in a while, I will do a craft project with them but that usually because I found a cute idea I wanted to try......

My kids RARELY bring a boxed or cookie cutter craft home. My DCP's can see on-line photos of their kids experiencing the art process so they KNOW their kid is doing it without having to have a craft project be brought home.

.....plus the left over paint/glue on their hands and clothes sometimes gives it away too

Reply

We do projects alot and my kids LOVE it.

This week-

Monday-made necklaces and bracelets using red, white, blue beads. I found matching ribbon I had and thats what we used for the necklaces and then pipe cleaners for the bracelets.

Tuesdays-painted popsicle sticks red, white, blue (2 of each color) and taped them on to red, white, blue yarn I had. We taped them on with red, white, blue electrical tape I had and sprayed glitter hairspray on them for the extra "sparkle".

Then we took a piece of white paper, put it in a plant box I had (something our plant nursery gives you to carry your plants around in), put red, white, blue paint on it and the kiddos rolled a golf ball around and marbalized the paint. They loved they way it came out and so did I and the parents.

Today-I gathered a ton of red, white, blue colage materials-paper, yarn, foam pieces, cut up a pepsi box, etc and then they will glue it on to red, white, blue paper that we will tape together.

Then we are going to color or paint a flag and put star stickers on it.

I have a craft table set up outside in the shade that we do this all on. I usually have two-three children come over and do theirs and when they are done switch out with someone else and then they can go play while others are busy at the art table.

Reply

Decided instead of doing the flag we are going to do toilet paper tube stamping.

I cut lines from the edge down just a little bit so the cut edges bend out. Then we are going to stamp red, white, blue paint on paper and it will look like fireworks. We may also do one with just red, white, blue circles.

Reply

Oh, great idea! I didn't get to Wal-Mart to buy foil star stickers and figured oh, well........I just rememberd from your post I was going to take star cookie cutters and stamp on blue paper with red and white paint! Thanks!

Reply

We are a play based preschool that mixes in process art (available all of the time) with some crafts that correlate to our letter or theme each month (sent home once or twice a week). They please the parents and give them something tangible to talk with their child about. They go along with our learning activities/books etc... so the kids draw connections between learning domains. I have taken so many early childhood classes that pump the process only mentality and preach that product art stunts creativity. I have been teaching preschoolers for 15 years and homeschool my own 2 children. All have been exposed to regular/daily process and occasional/weekly product art. I just do not see evidence to back up this process only philosophy.
Now, with that said, if a provider/teacher prefers process only art then that is awesome and amazing. I do not think kids are "missing out" if crafts are not included. But, I dont believe it is to the child's detriment if product/craft projects are included in a preschool/childcare classroom or home.

In addition, I am in business to make money and provide a quality service to parents. Parents want to understand and see what their child is learning. Can you blame them? In my program I use these product type take-home activities and a blog filled with pictures to document this learning for the parents. In reality, the product stuff takes 15 minutes out of a 8-10 hour day. They have fun doing their craft project and spend the rest of the day playing, doing hands on math and literacy, process art etc...

Reply

Didn't even think of this-off to dig the cookie cutters out.

Next week events-

Making red, white, blue playdough

Windsocks-One color for the top (with sparkly stars) and then opposite colors for the streamer

Flag-Color or paint and then add stars

Crayon Making (thanks Daycare)-melt red, white, and blue together

Hand Art-Different things to make with your hand print

Reply

Maybe try doing group projects that they could all participate in (some people are more motivated in group projects than solo projects). Like making a class murral (on canvas) or get a bunch of big picture frames and random materials and they can try to make a picture in the frames (you can take a picture for the parents to take see/ take home). Or you can make a lamp out of chicken wire and found materials.

Reply

We have been painting outside on cardboard boxes (pics on my fb page) for weeks now! It gets the "mess" outside. They like to paint big!! and they go between that and other things. I like the way one blog puts it "the invitation to play" just like with food we present it and they choose weather or not to participate. I present a lot of things that some do not choose to do.

Reply

I usually do one to two product arts and crafts a week....something having to do with the theme. Otherwise, I get out whatever random stuff the kids want to do for the day and let them do whatever they want . We do something every day. I'm not artistically inclined whatsoever and am not nearly as creative as the most un-creative child I have in my care, so arts and crafts is not something I'm likely to do on my own. However, my kids are really adamant about doing it, so here we are, doing it every day ;-).

Reply