want to Coulour at 10 month....

[ISHAYA]

Hi every one.

Yesterday I was doing some writting work and I gave my son a book, cose i knew he wont allow me to sit. Then suddenly I saw him holding a pen and try to pull it up and don. He was sooo happy to do it :biggrin: …So I gave him a red crayon and a pice of whit sheet. It was so excitting to see that he wanted to hold the crayon. He is only 10m old, but he could stand and walk by him self.

How can I help my son to colour in a correct way? He dont know how to hold a crayon even. Is it too soon to give him crayon? is there a better way to start?

[nic31600]

Hi Ishaa,

10 months isn’t too early, I think it is a great idea that you are introducing your son to new things. As long as you are always supervising him to make sure he doesn’t chew/eat them or draw on walls or furniture, by all means, go ahead. My daughter starting doodling around 9 months with non-toxic writing/colouring tools and I never took my eyes off her.

I bought large pieces of blank art paper and sticky taped them to the floor (preferably tiled is better) and let her have her way with it. Having large paper on the floor hopefully prevents them from drawing on things they shouldn’t be drawing on.

It may still be some time before he can hold it correctly in the mean time, guide the crayon by holding it in his hands to get the idea of how it works. Let him have as much time as possible exploring and doodling on his own as well. It’s not something I think a parent should rush upon, it will all come naturally when he builds up his hand muscle strength.

[ISHAYA]

Thank you nic31600,
I never thought of " blank art paper" and “on-toxic writing/colouring tool” once a again thanks for the idea… this would defiantly help me.

[2010BEBES]

How nice Ishaa, maybe you are discoverying a future artist. Who nows. Show him pictures. When my grandson was about 1 year old i remember he like watching the pictures on the walls everywhere we went.

[TmS]

Hey Ishaa,

It’s so good that you’re willing to let your son explore his creative side rather than taking the pen off him

We started giving our son opportunities to draw with chalk and to paint when he was three months old. We let him hold his pens, crayons and paint brushes in whatever manner it felt comfortable but he was holding a pen correctly and with control by one simply through copying us.

We try not to “teach him” how to colour in etc as at this point it’s more about the concept of making marks and developing fine motor skills as well as giving them a chance to become creative. Before he was two he was drawing pictures (some of which we could actually recognise before he told us what they were - many we still can’t see what he sees )

We were told by an occupational therapist for children that drawing on walls (not actually the walls but on a vertical surface) was recommended for beginners because it helped them to develop arm strength and control, put less pressure on the wrist and that the position encouraged finger holding rather than fist holding and this natural ease is one of the reason children love to draw on walls. The other is that they just can’t help but see the wall as blank canvas :wub:

We blu tacked butchers paper to the walls in each room and made him understand through positive re-inforcement that he could draw on the paper but not the walls. Giving him a creative spot in each room meant once he caught on we didn’t have to worry and he could draw any time the fancy took him.

Another great tool are soft pastels - the colours are so vibrant (even the white) and they make marks with very little pressure being applied which is very rewarding for young children (be warned it stains carpet and don’t let wet chalk near your walls it takes forever to get off).

We often make things out of cardboard boxes (our sons trampoline boxes were huge so we made a big bus) and then we decorate these altogether. It’s great fun for all of us, the pastels work really well on cardboard, and becomes an art project that can be continued - the bus lasted us three weeks before we pulled it apart and now the bottom half is used for his soft toys, all decorated by himself. We found that when he was younger cardboard was easier for him as he didn’t poke holes in it. They find it hard to control the amount of pressure when they first start.

We were also told by the OT & a child psychologist that when we paint or colour in with him to stay only one step a head of him. So if he’s using his whole arm to scribble you scribble too but using your wrist and fingers rather than drawing pictures or colouring in when they’re not at that stage as it can turn them off. We kind of mixed it up a bit and did both because we wanted him to see what can be achieved with pen and paper but we also understood that we needed to break the learning process down into bite sized chunks for him.

There are some really good recipes (just google it - if you cant find any let me know and I’ll dig mine out and post them for you) for bath tub paints which gives them a lot of fun and then they’re already in the right place to be cleaned up!!!

Enjoy the process it’s so much fun doing art like a toddler again, I enjoy everything I do with my son but I think art would be my favourite (probably because I’m not really much better than he is lol )

[nic31600]

No worries, You can find the recipes here to make your own paint and other things: http://www.familiesonlinemagazine.com/craftrecipes.html

TmS gave some pretty good advice but many people will tell you different things. At 10 months, he may preferably feel more comfortable laying down or sitting at a table rather then stand up but if you feel comfortable sticking things on walls then you can try that too, though, I doubt he will understand not to draw on walls, at least for a while.

I wouldn’t put things up on my walls for her to draw on 1. I’m renting and 2. my daughter likes to rip things off the walls so I know sticking it on would be a waste of time and she wouldn’t see the difference and start scribbling away. My niece is 3.5, and still draws all over the walls and furniture even though she understands not to do it, most of it won’t come out. Though you can repaint walls, you can’t repaint certain furniture and surfaces. .

I give blank art paper and large multi-coloured craft cardboard and we both draw or scribble and then stick them up on display around the house. I print off colour-in pages and make a poster theme and let my LO colour them in and then I add some details I.e gluing white cotton balls in a cut out of a cloud etc for an extra touch. You can make home made play dough, glue, paint and crayons instead of spending a lot of money on already made products. I make all my recipes, not to save money but to enjoy making things together (bonding) as well as teaching maths at the same time (whilst preparing the recipes).

At just 10 months, he isn’t really going to have a lot of understanding, nor enough strength - then again, i’ve never raised a boy! maybe they are even born strong. Pretty soon, I’m going to buy one of those standing chalkboards so my daughter can start experimenting with chalk but while her muscle strength is still a little tender, I’m sticking with the “tools” that are easier to scribble with, chalk doesn’t really stand out so much on certain “coloured” paper, surfaces etc unless you apply a lot of pressure, for most light colours in all the writing “tools”.

Paper mache is another thing he may enjoy doing as well. You paint it white, let it dry, then give him a paint brush and some coloured paint and let him paint it himself then when it is finished, you can make it into a farm animal or a piggy bank - my daughter loves doing this.

Once children start preschool/kindergarten, they really start building up on their craft skills

[2010BEBES]

Tms and nick3160

What nice ideas you are giving me. I would never have thought of ‘teaching’ a baby 3 month old (maybe 1 yr old) to color. But now i remember when my grandson assist an estimulation class when 8 month old they told us to give him a pencil to start holding and try to scribble. As yoy said maybe it is just for learning to grab the chalk or whatever.

Tms, the soft pastels seems a very good idea.
Karma to both of you for your tips.

[TmS]

Hey Guys,

I probably didn’t explain the vertical drawing very well, we started our son on that first. He was four months. What we did was get some of those alphabet jigsaw mats and created a triangle and then taped the cardboard onto it. It worked like an easel. We then sat him on our lap or in his high chair and let him go for it.

You can see his first painting session at http://www.acrodancer.com/sabian.html it’s a bit slow to load at the moment as I’ve been lazy putting it together. Scroll down - I think it’s labelled as his first painting session. You’ll also notice one labelled chalk & cuddles this one we were doing on the floor and the awkardness of that position is really obvious compared to the vertical easel.

As for drawing on walls - our son did this three times, all when we moved house. Basically we weren’t giving him enough attention so he deliberately did what he knew would stop us unpacking and bring us running. We rent too so it was really important that he learn not to as we don’t want to lose our bond (and then some) for painting the walls. He is just over two now and wouldn’t even consider drawing on the walls. He has never been punished or had so much as a harsh word it was all achieved through positive reinforcement.

We started training him from the begining. It is much easier to train them while they’re still in need of constant supervision than when you can let them wander around the house - you want to get on top of the impulse before that.

We found labelling the paper etc as a “canvas” worked well. We then would compliment him for drawing or painting etc on his canvas. When he would approach the wall with a pen or crayon we would light heartedly pick him up saying "You’re a funny boy - that’s not a canvas that’s a wall!’ We’d then take him to his butchers paper and get him to make a mark on it which would then be praised “what a good job you’re doing drawing on your canvas” it didn’t take long for him to realise that the walls weren’t for drawing on and as I said the only time we’ve had trouble with it was basically our own fault we should have made sure he wasn’t feeling ignored when we were so busy (oh well you live and learn).

We still have little art stations around the house and he still makes use of them and the art projects are a favourite for us all.

Like nic31600 we stick our art up around the house - I think it’s really important that he understands that we appreciate his art.

The most important thing with art is fun and creativity. Lots of different textures and materials.

One we like is getting a spray bottle filling it with water and adding food colouring. I then get old sheets and singlets and we spray them with different coloured sprays (outdoor art!!!) it’s heaps of fun. Though at ten months the trigger is a bit hard and he’ll need your help but he’ll enjoy it anyway.

[ISHAYA]

Hi,TmS & nic31600

Thanks for Sharing your stories, You guys has given me lots and lots of ides and tips. So have listed things that i need to gather for my son art section. :yes:

As I am a working mother weekends is the time I would spend with my kid. Any way I would love to share my story with you too.

[nic31600]

Hi Zaa, If you want a list of websites with lots of crafts and ideas, PM me and i’ll send you my very daunting list of websites!

TmS, that is great your child is so well behaved, my niece is the only child and has a SAHM and gets a lot of positive attention and reinforcement but she is very jealous and “demands” constant attention to the point she wants to follow everyone when they have to go to the toilet. We’re baffled by her strange behaviour and it’s not separation anxiety.

I don’t mind if my daughter scribbles on the walls, she hasn’t yet. I wouldn’t discourage it for the walls that are white and for furniture that can be easily repainted but there is 2 walls that can’t be painted and that is the only problem and concern. However I’m not a big fan of this activity, I think it’s great for building on their stregth and for short activites but i think it’s better to work on a table or a floor as kids seems more confortable that way.

My hubby actually suggested putting large wall stickers in light colours, all around the skirting boards and make sure it stands taller than her and let her scribble on that when the time comes as it’s harder for her to pull off. I never thought about this one before…she still is only interested doing things on the floor for now so will give it a try when/if the time comes.

I know there is drawing and things like that but what do you guys do with your kids to enhance their creativity using music? I sing songs and rhymes, have instruments and make our own, play a lot of music too and my little one is a passionate music lover but i’m not sure what else there is that I can do to provide more possibilities to explore music? My Lo is a vivid music lover and any suggestions would be great, thanks!

[Frukc]

My girl also used pencils early. Only two things:

• never let your child to run with pencils because of possible injuries;
• he WILL draw on walls. I gave her only pencils which I can erase.

[nhockaday]

Just saw this awesome wallpaper that encourages coloring on the wall! http://www.landofnod.com/family.aspx?c=10149&f=4884 I love it!
You can also buy chalkboard paint so your kid can color on the wall.
FYI toothpaste takes crayon off walls and other surfaces. It works perfectly!

[TmS]

Didn’t know that about toothpaste - great tip.

nic31600 in regards to encouraging musical creativity I’'ll start another post because I think it would be really interesting to get everone’s opinions

[waterdreamer]

I just ordered a booklet call “How to Teach your Baby to Write” from the institute. I’m trying to expose my daycare babies to coloring and such, but I figured, why not learn the steps to getting them printing too!

[TmS]

Hi Waterdreamer, can you let us know what it’s like. I think my son is almost ready but I’m hesitant to spend money on it if he’s not ready cause I’ll spend it on something else first

[2010BEBES]

@waterdreamer post:14

… I’m trying to expose my daycare babies to coloring and such, but I figured, why not learn the steps to getting them printing too!

How lucky are the babies that go to your daycare waterdreamer. Not all care givers are so interested in this topics nor put them in practice.

[nic31600]

My sister told me about the tooth paste a while ago, but I can’t use anything to clean my walls, I would have to paint the wall. even just a gentle scrub from a soft bristle toothbrush would scratch the white paint away and leave a black mark instead, so, I hope that if my dd shows interest in the walls, I can find the wall sheet thing. I wish my Australian house had wings and could fly long distance! French houses are a bit of a nightmare >:(

Waterdreamer, thats great! I had my daughter in daycare and when I saw that they weren’t doing any activities with the children at all besides from letting them play with their toys and play equipment, “unsupervised”, I had to take her out and doing it all myself now, we’re having a lot more fun together. After this experience, I wish I could run my own childrens activity centre. I think this daycare had that attitude because they are underpaid and understaffed and that is such a poor and unprofessional attitude to have.

[waterdreamer]

Oh my daycare is not perfect. I have lots of free play, but I play classical music and set up crawling tunnels such. And they are always supervisied. During mealtimes we do little reader(I’m hoping to start little math once the coupons come out… Hint hint KL and Lappy lol) and we do EK cards during diaper changes. They watch Signing Time in the morning and MonkiSee in the afternoon. And 5 min reading lessons with Speak and Read English. As they get older we will do more crafts and such, but right now they are under 18 months so it’s tricky. We try go get outside and play, but it’s been so hot lately. My 18 month old likes to watch my son play starfall and reading eggs, so I’m sure he is picking up stuff there too.
Come September I’m starting all the kids on a Glenn Doman program for reading. I figure we might start working on potty training, what a perfect time to expose them to the flashcards to keep them sitting on the potty.

[2010BEBES]

What a nice job waterdreamer. I am sure much better than the one you had before and at the same time having the opportunity of homeshooling your kid.

[ISHAYA]

Thanks all for your advice…

Well we started with pasting “bristle board” on the wall, then we used crayon for drawing picture. After that allowed my son to draw back. At the stared it was very smooth later on he became so excited, stared to draw on wall not on board. >:( :wacko: some time on the floor even. it made me so crazy. :wacko: I used the tooth past even it was time consuming to remove.

However my husband has bought " Nippon Paint Easy Wash", it allows you to wash off dirt and stains easily, more effectively than ever.