Children’s Art Week 2020

This year Children’s Art Week spans three whole weeks from 29 June to 19 July 2020 and will take place online to promote activities and workshops that you can do with the little ones from the comfort of your own home. Over the past few months, the coronavirus pandemic and national lockdown have highlighted the need for creativity in our lives. Through online streams of music and theatre, to draw-along sessions and make at home tutorials – the arts have been keeping everyone learning and connecting.

With a different theme for each week there will be plenty of creative inspiration to get your started, and we’ll explore some ideas here for you too!

• Week 1 – 29 June to 5 July: The natural world
• Week 2 – 6 to 12 July: Connecting across generations
• Week 3 – 13 to 19 July: Literacy and creative writing

The natural world

What is it about nature that inspires? What is it that your kids are most drawn to when you see them playing outside? This week encourages them to explore the beauty of nature in any way they choose – and there really is such a broad spectrum of directions in which to explore this theme.

From simply drawing what they see, to using what they find outside to build sculptures or make collages, there are a wealth of opportunities and ideas in the great outdoors:

• Stone stacking is a beautiful and non-permanent way to create using the world around you and can also help with concentration and hand-eye coordination. Simply gather some rocks and stones from the area you are exploring and get stacking.
• Gather leaves or flower petals and use them to build up beautiful patterns or fantastical creatures. Get them to look at the shapes and see what sort of patterns they lend themselves to.
• A simple classic: The fruit or flower arrangement still-life is a good place to start for getting children to really draw what they see. Grab some objects and some coloured pencils and away they go.

The possibilities with this week’s theme really are endless!

Connecting across generations

Creativity to bring the whole family together! One thing that the lockdown restrictions have taught us is the importance of staying connected.

This week why not get them to think about letter writing or creating art they can mail to a friend or relative to make them smile. Letters can include little doodles, messages of love and idea of activities they can do together when they can safely see each other again. With some A6 sized card they could even create their own postcards.

What about a collaborative art piece between a few people? The Combination Man Drawing Game is a fun way to come up with something silly and get you all creating together.

You could, as a family, explore your family tree and create a collage. Draw out a simple leaf shape on which your child could draw portraits of themselves and other family members and help them to arrange them accordingly. You could even think BIG with this one and dedicate a wall to building a huge family tree collage.

Literacy and creative writing

Time to flex those brain muscles! Creative writing is an important activity for all children to explore. Not only does it improve their reading, writing and communications skills, but studies also show it is thought to also promote better mental and emotional health and help alleviate stress.

You could start with something simple like asking them what their perfect day out would be if life were a little more ‘normal’ right now. With all the changes and restrictions that currently make up our daily lives, they’re sure to come up with something wild.

What about a day in their life if they could have a superpower? Where would they go and what would they do with it?

One of the easiest things to write about is your favourite thing and it’s great to see where that leads. What is it they love about pizza? Why is Autumn their favourite season? What do they like to build in Minecraft? Start with a list of things and then see if they can work them into a simple acrostic poem.

Don’t forget to let us know how you get on with your activities over the next few weeks. We’d love to see what you all come up with. Be sure to tag us in your posts and use #YESlove so we can see how you have been getting on.

Happy creating!