The Art of Childhood

Today I want to talk about art, but first I'd like to thank all of you who read my blog.  We all want to be heard and I get that support from you, so THANK YOU!  Hopefully, you hear your children - especially what they don't have the words to say.  Today, however, I'm wondering if anybody ever scrolls down to look at the bottom of the blog.  I have an "astronomy pic of the day" and fine art images by Miro, Dali, and Picasso to, hopefully, inspire people to keep art alive and to share it with their kids.  Where would the world be without art?  It's the language of the heart.  We painted on rocks before we built houses.  We wrote novels and poems before we wrote scientific volumes.  Art is part of our human heritage, across cultures and throughout time.  I came home the other night to find my daughter Sarah, who will be 3 in November, painting with watercolors at the table.  "Wanna come paint with me, Daddy?"  She said.  I could hear the excitement and sense the euphoric feeling of painting that she wanted to share with me.  How could I resist?  I sat down and, rather than painting like an adult, I copied her style of painting.  This painting happened to be composed of long, straight lines of different colors running vertically up and down the page.  We sat and painted, which also led to communication skills being developed.  "What color next, Daddy?"  "I don't know, honey.  Which color do you want?"  "Um, green!"  Then she'd dip her brush and I could see her trying to decide where to place the line, where to put the color.  Her mind was seeking balance in the image, a sense of placement, space, and color coordination.  We talked and painted.  I learned more about my daughter and she learned more about painting, color arrangement and composition.  Remember to paint, color, sculpt, etc. in the way that the child does.  The simple gesture of taking a few minutes to do art with your child, and mirror her skill level, shows her that what she does is important to you.  You can introduce one new concept each time, but be careful not to "outdo" your child.  As I sat and painted with my daughter I thought to myself, "This is what it's all about."  What do you think?