Teaching Kids Art Through Picture Books

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 else, growing family b...

 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 ages of kids. Teach that Christ-followers are “Easter people...

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 books with them. Going to the pumpkin...

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, letters, colors, and shapes in a fun
...

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

 Is learning supposed to be fun? Most kids and adults think of learning something new as a bit of a chore. It sometimes feels daunting; a mountain to climb requiring a lot of hard work and effort. But what if we could instill a sense of adventure and reward and fun into learning? What if learning generated excitement instead of dread? It is possible to do this. Here are three ways to teach kids to love learning.

        1. Feed their interest-Start at the library and let kids browse the non-fiction books in the children’s section. What are they interested in?

One of our sons was interested in the Titanic. That led to reading all the library books about shipwrecks, watching DVD’s about shipwrecks, which led to reading about finding buried treasure. Did that seed planted about adventure and travel eventually lead to him becoming a pilot? I don’t know, but it didn’t hurt.  Check out bunches of books to peruse at home and see what captures your kids’ attention, then follow that thread. 

Sometimes, we all need an infusion to help the creative juices flow again

Recently, after a season of creating and creating and creating, I just found myself needing a little boost. I felt empty of ideas…dry…dull…blank. It’s almost like the feeling of being hungry or not getting enough sleep. Have you or your kids ever felt that way, especially when asked to make or create something? 

We cope with this brain fog by scrolling endlessly on our phones, which adds to the fog, or by putting our heads down to finish the endless round of tasks in front of us. That’s ok for a little while, but we weren’t meant to live that way for long, and neither were kids. We are created to create! God Himself is an infinitely deep, joyful, creative person who made human beings in His image to appreciate beauty and to create.

So if you want your kids to create, you must feed that creativity, as if you were watering a plant you want to grow strong and healthy. 

What can you do to encourage your kids t...

There is nothing better than a pile of picture books to create interest and engage kids in learning. My favorite way to grab kids' attention and pique their curiosity is to simply start reading a book aloud. It can be a picture book or a chapter book, but once you start reading aloud, if it's a good book, they will inevitably be drawn in, like I am these days, to the sight of a red tulip or yellow daffodil or purple hyacinth.

Today I'm going to share:

• three characteristics to look for in a good read aloud picture book
• a booklist of ten of my favorite read aloud flower books for you to print out
• some of my favorite resources for finding good  picture books.

As you head out to look for ways to inspire your kids this month, I hope you find some of these tips helpful to spark their love of reading! 

What separates the good books from the duds? When I look for a good read aloud, there are some that clearly make the cut, and some that I immediately reject. Here are three easy ways ...

“Help! What do I do with All. This. Artwork????” 

“My child is prolific! Our house is overrun with art! I don’t want to throw it away, but how do I deal with the paper mess?” 

I understand, and I’ve been there. Before there was Facebook, the internet, or Etsy, there were bulletin boards, binders, and magnetic refrigerators. And walls. So there I lived during the 90’s when my little ones were busy coloring every available surface they were allowed with a marker or a crayon.

Thankfully, I have more options for you today than I had for myself when I was a young mom, and I’m happy to share these artwork display ideas from my own recent research and some help from Storygalorey mom Cara Lewis, who shared her ideas with me-thank you! 

Here are 13 ways to keep (at least some of) your kid’s art without too much overwhelm:

1. Bulletin Board: You can easily find bulletin boards or cork squares at Walmart, Amazon, or even Goodwill. Let your kid have an ever changing artwork display that chan...

When my kids were little, I was always trying to introduce them to compelling stories that would shape their characters. I wanted to find good books to read with them that would ignite their curiosity and form them into leaders with character. 

Enter the picture book biography. Sometimes these books are overviews of people and what they accomplished; sometimes these are a short story of something interesting about their lives, but always the writing and the illustrations draw a child into meeting someone new they may or may not have encountered before. Reading these books together helps stimulate new thoughts and discussions between you and your kids. After reading about these interesting people, ask your kids:

• Why did the person make the decisions they did?
• When did they have to show perseverance?
• How did growing up the way they did influence their later life?
• How have their lives changed the world?
• What do YOU want to do to change the world?

Want some new reading ideas ...