Talking about their art

Art plays a pivotal role in a child’s development.

A child progress through various stages of development as they grow and develop and this can be witnessed through their developing art.

For child the most important process is the doing. A child learns and develops through the process of play and doing things for themselves.

It is important for a child to take ownership of their work and this can be best seen through their want to discuss their art with you.

It is significant to a child to be able to talk about their work.

Talking about their work enables a child to further develop their vocabulary.

A good way for talking about a child’s art work is to encourage the child to discuss the piece themselves, in their own words.

This allows them to articulate what they have done.

It stops those awkward questions like ‘what is it?’ Moreover, if you find yourself needing to ask this to ascertain what it is it is best to ask them to describe it to you.

This eliminates the scenario where you tell them what you think it is and it’s not that (embarrassing for us and mortifying for them that you couldn’t see what they had made).

If we misinterpret their art it can then make them question their work. Whilst it may be an innocent comment to a child it has a enormous impact.

The best way to provide feedback for a child is to praise their effort. The effort is the key.

Supporting a child with their art facilitates a child to recognize how hard they worked and encourage them to be proud of their accomplishments. It promotes them wanting to continue.

A never fail question is “Can you tell me about your…..painting/drawing, etc”

Additionally,

• Focus on the child. Make more of a focus on providing feedback on the effort the child has put into the art rather than on what they have produced.
• Notice the details. Discuss with the child specific things within the art. You could make note of their colour choices for example. Questioning a child in a way that promotes them to further discuss encourages a child to continue to talk about their art. Questions such as ” I like how you did …… Can you tell me more about that”.
• Use phrases that invite the child to talk about their art. Phrases such as “I noticed…” or, “I see that you….”
• Refrain from offering an opinion that may be perceived as judging the art. A child may ask you if you like it. They are seeking your approval not critique. Remember you are focusing on the process and supporting the child’s efforts.
• Celebrate the child’s work. Display the work. Share the work. By celebrating the work you are validating the child’s effort. It is acknowledging the child which will encourage future work.

Encouraging a child to talk about their art is a good skill and empowers them to share their work in a positive way.

It enables them to take ownership of their achievement and share their thoughts.

Asking a child to discuss their art demonstrates that we are interested but it goes far deeper than that on a developmental level.

It provides the opportunity for a child to verbally express themselves and put into words their self expression; permits them to think critically; challenges them to think and interpret their world.

The actual information relayed when a child is discussing their art is not the important element.

What is important is helping a child describe what they see and explain their artwork in words.

Asking open ended questions promotes the child to carefully consider their art.

Discussing a child’s art encourages careful looking where a child can look and think about their art from different perspectives with our help.