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Artsonia: Tutorial to show you how to get started

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 * Observational skills as well as creative skills are essential in today's world and these take practice to develop to their full potential. That's where you can help! Below is a list of ways to encourage your child to develop observational skills and creative thinking skills. **

Observation skills: 1. Ask questions about the world around you that require your child look and notice details in how something looks. 2. Give your child a magnifying glass to see detail 3. Take a walk using the following steps: Provide your child with a notebook, a variety of colored pencils and a pen.
 * || ===Step 1 ===

Step 2
Take your child to a garden, a wildlife area, a zoo, or a museum. Any place that has a variety of objects, plants or animals is acceptable.

Step 3
Encourage your child to pick a plant, insect, flower, animal or object to focus in on and let him draw it without any criticism from you. You can encourage this as a normal project by choosing your own object to draw as well.

Step 4
Give your child positive and specific feedback. Avoid meaningless words like "good," "perfect" or "pretty" and focus on qualities of her art with statements like "I really like how you used red to emphasize the flower petals," or "Tell me about this yellow area." Use the pen to print the name, date and location of the object if your child is too young to write, or encourage your child to do it so that he can track his artistic skill over the years.

Step 5
Take a picture of what your child drew with a camera to add to the neighboring page so that she can add details to the picture later if she likes. Treat this journal as something to cherish, and encourage your child to add to it whenever he sees something he would like to capture on paper. Keep the camera ready to add pictures as needed. ||  || 4. Encourage "blind contour drawing" or "air drawing" of actual objects in front of your child.

> Read more: [|http://www.livestrong.com/article/187111-how-to-help-children-develop-observation-skills/#ixzz1YYfIrk00] “//There are three classes of people: those who see. Those who see when they are shown. Those who do not see//.” <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">― [|Leonardo da Vinci]
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Teaching a child observational skills will work best if he does not know that you are trying to teach him observational skills. Instead, encourage observation through fun activities; art is a wonderful medium for teaching better observational skills and attention to detail. Practice working on your own observational skills by noticing when your child has done something well. Your child will benefit from your positive attention in a multitude of ways. You can teach observation skills on-the-go by pointing out interesting things on any outing; a bright orange hat, a large mustache, a silly looking dog--point out the details and ask your child to do the same. "I spy" is a wonderful game that you can play anywhere, encouraging observation skills.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Never criticize or try to "out-do" your child's art form. Children are quick to retreat from any activity that damages their self esteem. You can be most helpful by focusing on the positive and making any activity fun. Remember, art is something which improves with practice, just as observational skills are learned through practice. Anyone can express themselves with art if given nonjudgmental support to do so.


 * In today's world, creativity is a valued skill...and not just in the arts. Creative thinking is one of the most important skills that your child will ever develop in their life and it’s one of the only things that humans will ever have a monopoly on. No animal or supercomputer can compare to the human capability of creative thinking. Below find suggestions on helping develop your child's creative thinking skills. **

<span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">1. Encourage your child to create something new everyday. <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">2. Ask open ended questions that can not be answered with a "no" or a "yes".
 * || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Socratic or open-ended questions are a great way to get children's creative juices flowing. These questions help a child distance himself from the here and now. Choices, comparisons, entertaining new ideas, and formulating personal responses to these questions are all-important ingredients in creative thinking.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Here are some open-ended questions to ask children to inspire their creativity:

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">3. Offer your children a range of creative materials and experiences: drawing, painting, photography, music, trips to museums or zoos, and working with clay, paper, wood, water and more.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">What could happen if it always rained on Saturdays?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">What if cars never wore out?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">If you saw a mouse in your backyard chewing your mother's favorite flowers, what would you do?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Why don't we wake up with our hair neat and combed?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">What would happen if a cow, a bee, and a clover got together?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">What could happen if cats could bark?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">What could happen if all the shoes in the world were the same size? ||  ||

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Creativity Traps** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Some parents and teachers have a hard time encouraging creative expression, even though they understand and appreciate its benefits. Maybe they don't feel creative themselves or are uncomfortable with the mess and materials. It's best to let your child tell you about their creation rather than guessing. Try not to judge, evaluate, or compare your children's creative expressions. A little assistance and direction can be helpful, but be careful not to interfere with your children's creative explorations. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">**Fostering the Creative Process** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">In order to foster the creative process, encourage your children to make their own choices. Give them frequent opportunities and lots of time to experience and explore expressive materials. What your children learn during the creative process is most important. Show your support for the creative process by appreciating and offering support for your children's efforts. Independence and control are important components in the creative process.

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This incredibly entertaining and thought provoking lecture by Ken Robins is a must watch presentation if you’re concerned about developing your child’s creativity… or as Ken Robins put’s it… not //destroying// your child’s inate creativity.