The Art of Parenting

As a freelance writer, I cover a lot of topics. One of my favorites to cover is education. My son is not yet old enough to attend the schools in our school district, but as part of my job, I often cover the school board meetings.

At our most recent meeting, a presentation was made about an art program that occurs in classrooms at one elementary school in the district once per month. The other schools have little to no art at all, and even this school, which was praised for incorporating art into the curriculum, only sets aside one hour per month for an art lesson.

It's scary.

Art is SO important, and it should be taught in schools. Some kids will grow up to be artists, and they should be exposed to their craft early. I think it is a major failing in our school district, and probably one that exists across the country.

I introduced my son to art a long time ago. Since before he was 1 year old, we began making animals out of his footprints (we can't do hand print animals because he simply tried to eat the paint and never gives me a flat print on the paper) and exploring how colors mix with each other to create new colors. He doesn't attend daycare so exposing him to arts and crafts at home - even if it's a project I have to do most of the legwork for - is important to me. I want him to be as artistic as he wants to be. I'm not particularly skilled at drawing, but even I have creative outlets such as sewing, crafting and writing.

Now that my son is older, I am getting increasingly excited about the new projects we will be able to do. For now we mostly stick to toddler crayons and other age-appropriate art supplies, but in an effort to expose him to more mediums, we took to finger painting this week. Before you freak out, the paint was edible, and my son didn't even end up eating any. (YAY!)

Here is the recipe we used, sent to me by my sister-in-law. It was a hit, and now Hunter grabs his paintbrushes and makes the sign for "more." Looks like we will be doing it again soon.

Link to project: http://theimaginationtree.com/2011/03/homemade-edible-finger-paint-recipe.html

-N.

Slightly Crunchy: giving in to some of the earth-preserving, "granola-esque" qualities that are often associated with mothers such as cloth diapering, breastfeeding and organic baby food-making, but without fully embracing the "make-your-own-clothes-wear-organic-deodorant-all-natural-everything" lifestyle.