Mumsnet users share how they encourage their children to express themselves creatively with Crayola

[JustineBMumsnet]

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Whether your child is a young artist in the making or you sometimes wonder if their creations are even fridge worthy, children can be happiest when they’re expressing themselves through crafts and colouring. With that in mind, Crayola would like to hear about how and why you encourage your children to express their creative ideas using colour..

Here’s what Crayola has to say: “We believe in the power of self-expression via colour! Whether it’s providing tools to put a purple octopus on the moon, or inspiring arts infused projects to bring to life together as a family, Crayola is passionate about raising creatively alive children and unleashing their originality. Via a wide range of innovative colourful tools and crafting activities, especially designed for kids, like washable pens, markers and paint, coloured pencils and twistable crayons that last longer, Crayola gives colourful wings to the imagination that grows in the hearts and minds of the children”.

What are your favourite crafting activities with your children? Which colouring tools do your children like using most? Perhaps your children most enjoy being creative if they’re developing their masterpieces as gifts for others? Or do you have children that love drawing and painting so much any encouragement from you is unnecessary? Do more creative tasks like colouring help your children to be more mindful? Or perhaps you find encouraging your children to be creative or art a great way to get them to open up and share what they’re feeling?

All who share how or why they encourage their children to express themselves and their ideas via colouring on the thread below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

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I think painting is a great way for kids to express themselves. Just allowing them to go crazy with the paint is always enjoyable for them, and they make lovely gifts for family

We love going to arts and crafts activities ! Places we can get super creative and messy and I have no fear cos were not in the house haha.

We do all sorts make ice sculpture, press flowers, create soaps and cakes along with arts and crafts both indoors and outdoors drawing and painting chalking the garden concrete

Make sure you display their works of art

I try to enroll my daughter in as many creative classes as possible so she can try new things such as drawing, creative writing, knitting, sewing, painting, sketching, patchwork - you never know what will ignite a creative spark or where it will lead

We love variety - painting, drawing, using fingers, brushes, printing, exploring different textures etc. Messy but fun with a just 2 year old!

We have a huge box of crayons, amassed from many years Christmas and birthday presents. Colouring is very therapeutic for children it gives them self esteem when their pictures are praised for being fabulous. We love to draw a picture of our day, being at the park, seaside or in the garden, they create lovely memories, and look fabulous on the wall.
What is more fabulous than to have a rainbow drawing on your wall to cheer you up ?

At school it often seems that the art lesson is short or dropped. On many occasions my DD has been taken out of Art to do extra Maths. So this summer we decided we'd do something creative every day.

So far we've done:

Chalk outdoors
Watercolour painting
Continuous line drawing
Drawn bottles with a scene inside
Painted the night sky
Designed our names on wiggly lines
and more...

This has also ensured they don't go straight to technology every day!

my son is passionate about sketching and has a bound sketchbook where he loves to draw various superheros and anime characters and will watch drawing tutorials on youtube. I encourage him as I think it's such a lovely hobby.

Garden
Kids in swimwear
Giant old cardboard boxes
Paint lots of paint

Hosepipe to clean the kids after 😂

I keep them supplied with pens, pencils, glue, arts and craft stuff and let them go crazy. I also take to any local events where they can use their imagination. A couple of weeks ago there was a castle building event, they were given a cardboard box and a massive array of bits and bobs and off they went making their castle, it's lovely to see their little ideas.

Provide them with different types of materials for drawing, model building or imaginative games.

Favourites here are outdoor chalks, stamper pens, giant paper and “forbidden” grown-up pens - biros etc. But really all my 3yo wants to do is draw all over their own body!

I set up invitations to play for the kids- to encourage them to be creative

I gave up keeping playdoh and paint colours separate years ago, DC learned on their own in time to not mix everything up all the time.

We do art time - they draw, paint, create things, whatever they want to do really!

i'm quite a crafty person so ive always encouraged my lil boy to draw and paint. He shows a natural interest in it too.

My little girl loves making things from cardboard! She has recently made building blocks from cardboard for my little boy which say A B C on them. In the past, she has made a theme park out of things she found on the beach and pretend fish tanks lol

They love painting. So much paint. I don't mind paint in summer when we can do it outside but winter is another thing so we're going to do brass /leaf rubbing when it gets colder. We've painted a castle from hobbycraft, painted on easels, stamping, finger painting, pens, pencils, chalks. Anything messy and they love it.

I let me two DDs have free choice from the craft box for activities. One of their favourites is to cut out pictures from old birthday/Christmas cards and then stick them onto paper or make their own cards. A good way of reusing old cards and they get to develop cutting and sticking skills as well!

My DD loves art but I must admit the mess does put me off so we mostly stick to colouring in- I print off colouring sheets of her favourite characters. Need to do more painting as she loves painting!

just tell them to be themselves

Chalk on the paving stones in the garden

My daughter loves anything creative. I have a craft box filled with paints, crayons and crafty things which we get out when stuck in the house on a rainy day. On a day to day basis she has her colouring books and play dough to keep her occupied.

My DC love watching me draw too, and will often copy techniques after watching me do it. Plus, it’s fun for me too!