Balance is an important component of any child’s education. Especially if you are a teacher (either at a school or as a homeschooling parent), you know that it’s important to give your kids a mixture of new challenges and fun, self-led activities.
But did you know that painting lessons can actually present the best of both worlds?
Most kids naturally love art because, quite simply, it’s fun! However, they may only tend to only stick to an area that they are comfortable with. Because of this, more structured painting lessons can give kids a chance to explore an area of interest while also developing skills that transfer into every other academic area, such as: discipline, following instructions, critical thinking, expression/communication, and even self-confidence!
If art is not your thing, or if you are a little unsure about how to make painting lessons a regular part of your child’s day, don’t stress! We have some simple ideas that you can use to make painting classes a really fun part of your kids’ daily education.
1.Bring in Other Interests
Bringing other interests into the world of painting/art is a super simple way to make art and/or painting classes fun for kids. For example, if your child loves animals, you could have him or her take online lessons from this art track that’s entirely about painting/drawing animals! If you have a Manga reader in the house, try having him/her learn how to create an original manga character with art! You get the point, right? Customizing children’s art and painting projects based on their interests is a very easy way to make it fun for them.
This works both ways too, by the way. If you, the teacher/homeschooling parent, are trying to bring other academic areas into the world of art to make them more dimensional, relatable, or fun, you can do that too! For instance, at Sparketh, we have a whole track that’s all about different portrait styles. Many of the courses on that track could offer a fun, hands-on way to integrate art history into whatever cultural period your child is studying!
2. Get a little messy
One thing that can be a big downer in a painting class for kids is too much stress about keeping things clean. Allowing (even encouraging) a little bit of messiness can be a great opportunity embrace a fun, more relaxed attitude. As a homeschooling mom, I know that my daughter gets tired of me constantly asking her to put things away and pick things up (and honestly, I get sick of saying “put your books/shoes/space suit away,” too). But with art -and especially painting- messiness is part of the fun, so embrace it! Your kids will love it.
Practical Tip Time: My real-life, practical advice for not stressing about messes, as a mom? Stock up on black garbage bags to throw over the work area and have your kids pick out a “paint shirt” to wear. Then you really won’t stress as much about the mess!
3. Show Off
Want to let your child feel encouraged and proud of his/her artistic efforts? Sometimes it’s as simple as showing off a little. Try putting your child’s work up in a special place where others can see it! If you have a home office or school room, you could make an area just for displaying a child’s favorite works of art. You could even include other works of other friends or family members, too. One of my friends has a “clothesline” on a wall of her living room where she displays her favorite artwork by family and friends works of art, and she’s always switching it out with whatever is most current. It’s always fun to see what’s up there!
If you don’t have physical space to display and share your child’s art with others, you can also consider doing so in a virtual space! For example, Sparketh students have the option to upload completed works of art to a virtual portfolio. In addition to being a cool way to keep track of progress and completed courses, the virtual portfolio also connects to a larger gallery for Sparketh members, where students can see each other’s work.
4. Change It Up
One nice thing about painting is that there is never any excuse for it being boring! If you ever find yourself stuck in some kind of painting rut, change it up!
You could switch out the type of paint being used on a regular basis. For example, if your child has been painting in acrylic paints, exclusively, try a watercolor course! Watercolor painting is completely different sort of art study than acrylics.
Or how about changing the medium? You and your child can explore some new ideas and come out with something functional. How about some wearable art on a t-shirt that they designed themselves? Or maybe, when they are ready, they could design and paint a wall mural in their painting class for kids.
It isn’t hard to bring the fun into a painting class for kids. Most kids usually enjoy art classes and will have a good time once they start to relax and customizing their experience with art.
5. Enroll them in a course
There are huge benefits to enrolling kids in an art or painting class, and they always seem to have fun once they get involved. A virtual painting class for kids provides just a little bit of structure while also being rewarding, relaxing, and confidence-boosting! When you enroll them in art classes, kids can learn artistic techniques for painting or drawing that will bring them even greater satisfaction with their accomplishments! If art classes or painting lessons are something that you feel you would love to have a little help with, then enroll your kids in a course. There are lots of fun painting classes for kids available on Sparketh!
Have you ever tried to do painting lessons with your child? Have you ever considered trying professional classes?