Teaching Kids Art Through Picture Books

When young kids are home in the days before Christmas, they get restless. There is so much excitement going on, and so much (for you!) to do, sometimes it helps to direct their attention to a simple drawing activity they can work on while you are doing what you need to do, nearby. Today I'm going to show you how to help your kids draw a simple angel using 3 shapes. Kids as young as 4 years old can do this. I know this because I used to draw these over and over again on the bulletin at church while my dad was preaching and I was supposed to be quiet during the sermon. Some of my earliest memories are sitting, squirming on the pew, with the little pencil and paper in my hand, drawing angels.

Because small children are just learning to hold and control a coloring tool, repetition is key. Let them have a crayon and practice over and over again on a large piece of paper.

Here's how to draw a simple angel using just 3 shapes. All you need are some crayons and several pieces of white...

Sometimes this time of year you are looking for ways to keep kids interested in giving to others, in showing love in the spirit of the season. It is all too easy for any of us, but especially for kids, to think that Christmas is all about what they get on Christmas Day. When you spend time showing them a creative way to brighten someone else's day, there is no need to say anything-they should be automatically motivated to give something away. That's a win-win, because they had fun creating something, and they will bring joy to whoever receives their homemade Christmas card. Plus, they made a fun memory doing something artistic.

Here is an idea for making Christmas cards that is fun to make and fun to give: the ever-popular pop-up Christmas card! 

Making a pop-up card isn't hard. All you need are a few simple supplies: (These are Amazon Associate links-no extra cost to you, just helpful to support Storygalorey-thank you!)

• scrap pieces of colored and white paper
• 2 pieces of...

This is a great time of year to help kids show love to others and to help them be creative! Why not combine the two by making homemade Christmas cards? These will encourage their creativity and their generosity as they make and give cards to neighbors, grandparents, teachers, or friends who are far away. They could even make cards and gift them to a nearby homeless shelter or retirement community. Here is a simple way to make a Christmas card with children. It takes simple materials, which you probably have at home.  If your child can color and cut paper, she can make this card!  For this Christmas card, you will need: (These are Amazon Associate links)

• oil pastels
• 2 pieces of construction paper, any colors
• scissors 
• glue, gluestick, or double sided tape
• hole punch

Here are the steps, or you can watch the 7 min. video to see exactly how I did it. 

1. Fold both  pieces of construction paper in half.

2. Draw half a...

I'm sure as a parent or grandparent, you've asked yourself this question: How can I make Christmas more meaningful? I think one of the answers is that you start a few weeks in advance with a preparation time called Advent.  

This can be a stressful time of year, but also one of the most important and impactful times for you, as the parent or grandparent, to make really great and meaningful memories with your children. Today I want to share some ideas to help you do that. 

Advent is a season of preparation for Christmas happening the four Sundays before Christmas. Some people have never heard of Advent, so if you don't mind, I'm going to share my tradition with you. 

In my family growing up, among other decorations for Christmas, out would come our old advent wreath. This was just a simple metal ring with 4 candle holders covered with red berries and some fake evergreens. My mom liked everything in her home to look lovely and...

Have you ever been at a place, say, the airport, and it was just fun to watch people? It is fun to look at all the faces of all the travelers...every one of them completely unique. Have your kids ever wanted help drawing a human face? Today I will give you a simple demonstration on how to draw a face.

 "Decades of scientific research shows that faces are of particular importance even to newborn babies. In the first several hours after birth, a baby can recognize her mother’s face and distinguish that face from strangers...Clearly, faces are an important factor in infant development," says  Kaitlyn Torrez, on the blog KeaBabies.  We are born with a fascination with faces. This is evident to us every time we interact with our new grandbaby--look at his preferential gaze to his mama!

And many children love to draw faces. I often incorporate some type of portrait drawing in Storygalorey classes. I like to give kids lots of practice...

With Christmas right around the corner, you may be thinking about best gifts for kids who love to draw and create. Of course, you want to encourage reading, but what are some good books that would make a great addition to your family library and that would encourage your kids to read? Today I want to share with you my time tested gift guide for all things related to books and art. It was hard to narrow down, so these are just a few of my best ideas for books and art supplies I'd be happy to give or receive for the kids I care about in my life. These are tried and true, tested, and I love using them with kids, myself. 

When you give an art supply or a book to a child, you are giving the gift of:

• cultivating their imagination
• encouraging them to make the world a more beautiful place
• inviting them to grow and explore

These are gifts they will not use just once and toss aside, but hopefully will use over and over again. They can be used alone or with someone...

 Halloween can be controversial. Some of us love it and ignore its darker aspects, and others of us try to avoid all association with it. With good reason. The history of Halloween, the practices associated with Halloween, are enough to raise our eyebrows and wonder what is the “right” way to parent this time of year.

While I don’t love ghosts, zombies, the celebration of death, skeletons, etc., I do love the opportunity that comes this time of year to point children to the living and loving God. Let’s not miss this timely opportunity to teach our kids some Biblical truths in ways they can understand.How do we do that? What opportunities come with Halloween for spiritual growth in our children?

Here are 5 ways I like to point kids to spiritual truths in this season: 

1. Teach the history -Brush up on your facts here: Meaning and History of Halloween, All Saints Day, Reformation Day and figure out what’s appropriate for your...

If you are looking for a fall art idea to do with your kids, here is one I love to do as often as I can. This pumpkin collage uses these simple materials:

• scrap paper
• scissors
• glue

These pumpkins will add a bright spot to your fall decorations and give your kids a fun activity to do! I used my pumpkin collage to decorate my windows. Since it's my husband's birthday, I wrote Happy Birthday on mine to wish him lots of love!

Collage is a great art activity to do with kids of all ages. The youngest ones love to simply cut and glue. As they get older, they can pay more attention to shape and detail. Watch the video, and feel free to let them improvise as they go. 

It's always an educational boost to pair reading with art, so grab this list I made for you listing ten of my favorite fall picture books. Your kids will enjoy looking at the different kinds of illustrations and photographs of pumpkins, and you'll enjoy reading these pumpkin picture...

I'm so excited to share some book ideas I've been gathering to help families welcome new babies, siblings, cousins, etc. to their families. If you have a baby or toddler, know someone who is expecting a baby, or are invited to a baby shower, this is for you! Since I just spent the week with my daughter and son-in-law, who have three young children, I asked them to share with me the kinds of books they like best to read to their kids. For best read alouds to preschoolers, infants, and toddlers, they like books that are:

• Short
• Rhyming
• Have good illustrations/bright colors
• Have the element of texture-kids can touch and feel
• Are interactive-flaps, holes, or can act it out/sing with it

I love books that you can read over and over again  through the years and that bring beautiful art to them from day one of a child's life. Reading to babies, according to kidshealth.org: 

• teaches a baby about communication
• introduces concepts such as numbers,...

Usually I am recommending picture books. But sometimes, we need some practical help from the trenches when we are in the middle of raising a family well. Do you want some parenting wisdom from people who've been there and have helpful things to say? I know I did 34 years ago when I began this journey; and now that my own kids are having kids, I find myself wanting to brush up on things I've forgotten when it comes to raising kids. It's also great to check out what is recent and relevant for today's parents. I've asked my older and younger parent friends to recommend some of what's been helpful for them, and put it together in a list you can print to take to the library to link to Amazon. I hope it's helpful! This list is 10 of my favorite recommended books for parenting; podcasts and other resources will be another topic! And please feel free to leave a comment on your favorite parenting books.

Download the list here!

Happy reading,

Jennifer