How To Talk To Montessori Toddlers About Art

How To talk about Art To Montessori Toddlers

It can feel a little overwhelming—maybe even silly—to try and introduce your toddler to Montessori art concepts. Some toddlers might still be learning how to talk and hold a spoon, so how are you supposed to have a full on art conversation? Here’s the good news: How-to talk to toddlers about art making is not something you need to worry about. You don’t have to use “art language,” proper terminology, or fancy words in order for your toddler to start appreciating and experiencing art making.

Art does have its own type of language, it’s called the ‘Elements and Principles of Design” but that’s way too advanced for toddlers to understand! If you start using this strange art terminology, you’re going to lose your child’s attention, and likely get frustrated yourself. When you talk to your toddler about Montessori art—”Art Talk”—it’s really just describing what you see in artworks, like color, shape, and form, etc. Before I get into how-to talk to Toddlers about montessori Art let me break that down an easy way your toddler will understand, I want you to have some basic knowledge.

How-to Talk to Toddlers About Montessori Art – By Spramani Elaun

Basic Art Words

For a young child, exploring through art play is something natural. Children gain a sense of their physical world by using each and all of their senses—seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and hearing. This is how knowledge is first learned. The enthusiasm a child feels while dipping a paintbrush into a paint palette or creating brushstrokes across a blank paper is exciting! It’s a curious mix of senses.

Learning Montessori art is about discovery and exploration. By allowing toddlers to explore art (without any expectations), it is a natural way for you to introduce toddlers to art concepts. Playing and experimenting can help them build confidence to start expressing art terms. This type of art exploration can manifest in various activities like doodling, painting, color mixing, and clay modeling.

(For more detailed information on how to teach toddlers art, read this post.)

How-to Talk to Toddlers About Montessori Art – By Spramani Elaun
Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography | aquarium.ucsd.edu

Okay, let’s get started on how easy it is to talk to toddlers about art! When you first introduce art talk to your toddler, keep things basic and simple. Start by describing what you see or what’s happening as you create art. As your toddler begins to explore, art talk will become easier and easier.

Most likely, their inquisitive little brains will start making cognitive connections (like, “if I use this purple paint with this paintbrush, it’ll come out like this”), and they’ll probably start asking questions (such as, “what color is this?” or “why did this happen?”). You don’t necessarily need to use these exact terms, but let me show you how simple this conversation can be with toddlers. Describe basic aspects of art:

  • Color
  • Shape
  • Texture
  • Line
toddler

How-to toddler art talk sounds:

Here are some examples of how to start talking and describing what you see in Montessori art activities: While reading storybooks, you can point out colors like this:

  • “The bear is all brown. Do you want to color something brown today?”
  • “Let’s cut out some shapes, like circles and squares, with scissors.”
  • “Hey, what about making some fun textures in our clay? Watch me!”
  • “Let’s make squiggly and straight lines with crayons.”
  • “How many different colored lines can we draw together?”
  • “Let’s mix yellow and blue. What color did you make?”

Why Is It Important Toddlers Do Art Activities?

  • Toddler art talk supports confidence.
  • Toddler art talk supports experimental curiosity.
  • Toddler art talk can boost brainpower.

Art talk—especially when it’s positive and encouraging—can be the foundation for building up your toddler’s creative confidence. Remember that most artworks made by toddlers are simply led by their curiosity and art play. For them, the purpose of art is to have fun, and their finished pieces won’t necessarily resemble anything realistic.

By encouraging them and addressing their questions, they will become more adventurous in their exploration and ultimately develop the self-confidence to continue learning—even beyond art. Art talk stimulates your child’s imagination.

Art talk can boosts brainpower!

There is significant neural activity occurring in the brain when children engage in art. Studies by neuroscientists, science researchers, and art therapists have shown how early childhood art contributes to brain development. Over my twenty years of studio-based observations, I have seen these connections firsthand, illustrating how creating artwork helps children enhance their brains.

(For more detailed information on how art boost brain power, read this post.)

If you have any questions or need help answering their art-related inquiries, please feel free to email me at info@Spramani.com. For more ideas and tips on integrating art into your toddler’s life, sign up for my Montessori Art newsletter. With practice, you will become good at talking to toddlers about art.


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Holiday Craft | Painting Ornaments

During the holiday things get busier, but we also create space for special moments, even in the Montessori classroom. Painting holiday crafts are a fantastic way for children to express their creativity and independence. I’ve painted ornaments with countless kids in classrooms and workshops during the holidays, and they all enjoy this craft immensely! It’s a keepsake that students and their families can cherish for years. Every year, I have kids coming back to create a new ornament for their collection.

Holiday Craft | Painting Ornaments

Setting Up a Kids Craft Activity

One of the great things about this kids’ holiday craft is its simplicity in setup, requiring just a basic paint kit without the need for many special items. Opting for woodcraft ornaments is beneficial as they are environmentally friendly compared to plastic and safer for younger children than glass ornaments.

Here are some handy tips for organizing this festive art activity for your students (or for kids at home too!):

Holiday Craft | Painting Ornaments, child painting

Creating a Mess-Free Painting Area

Ensure the painting space is located in an area where children can freely engage in a bit of messiness. Consider using a drop cloth, especially if painting indoors. Provide smocks, aprons, or large old t-shirts for the kids to wear, protecting their clothes from potential stains—some paints are challenging to wash off fabrics.

To enhance the painting experience, place the materials at eye level on a flat and stable surface, such as a table. Adding another layer of protection with a drop cloth or old newspaper on top can further safeguard the painting area from spills and splatters.

Holiday Craft | Painting Ornaments

Ornament Supplies

Here’s a list of everything you’ll need for this kids’ holiday craft:

  • Wooden ornaments – any shape will work, but ‘holiday shapes’ add to the festive spirit
  • Acrylic paint – for the best and longest-lasting results
  • Paintbrushes – various sizes, including fine/tiny ones for details
  • Paint palette – any size works, even a simple paper plate
  • Glitter – choose any color; white glitter adds a lovely touch to painted ornaments
  • Smock – or another cover-up to protect kids’ clothes from acrylic paint stains
  • Napkins – for cleaning paintbrushes between color changes
  • Water jar – for rinsing paintbrushes
  • Hairdryer (optional) – handy for speeding up the drying process, especially for older kids or adults working on intricate details
kids painting crafts
Painting Tips

Ornaments: You can purchase unfinished wood craft shapes at local superstores, craft stores, or online. Glass orb ornaments can also be used, but caution is advised with younger children. Consider recycling old ornaments by refreshing their designs or allowing kids to create new ones from scratch.

Paint: Opt for acrylic paint for its durability and longevity. Memories can last a lifetime—I still display ornaments my kids painted when they were young every holiday season! Ensure you use kid-safe, non-toxic acrylic paint for this activity.

Holiday Ornaments

How to choose colors

Encourage children to express their creativity freely by allowing them to paint whatever inspires them, whether traditional holiday themes or personal creations. While kids may opt for symbols of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or other winter holidays, they have the freedom to choose.

Here are some recommended colors to kickstart the painting process:

  • Red
  • Black
  • White
  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Dark Green
  • Yellow
  • Orange
  • Pink
  • Purple
  • Brown
  • Burgundy deep red

If you don’t have all these colors, that’s perfectly fine; beautiful ornaments can still be created using just three to four colors!

Remember, when using glitter, ensure children apply it while the paint is wet. If they wait until the paint dries completely, the glitter won’t adhere well and may not stick effectively.

Take it a Step Further: Grab Your FREE Kids Holiday Crafts Painting Checklist!

If you’re new to painting activities with your students, get ready for a delightful experience—kids truly enjoy this craft! The setup is straightforward, making it easy to repeat with your students multiple times throughout the holiday season. You can also explore related activities like rock painting or painting on paper using the same materials; only the images, paint colors, and canvases may vary.

kids painting book

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Painting Guide for Teachers and Parents

Discover a straightforward guide tailored for teachers and parents to kickstart painting lessons with ease. This book equips you with essential knowledge on the required materials, the best paints suited for kids, fundamental painting techniques, and my top tips for creating an exciting painting exploration experience for your students. Get ready to ignite a passion for art in your students as you embark on this colorful journey of creativity and learning. Unleash the joy of painting and inspire young minds to express themselves through art! ORDER NOW

A Short Cut Just for You

Once you see how much your students love painting, you’re going to want to include it as a regular part of your curriculum. My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that walk students through everything they need to know to be successful at painting, from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals!

Each lesson is part of a sequence and includes all the components, tips, materials lists, and instructions you need to ensure you will be able to actually teach your students to become skilled painters. All you have to do is simply follow the instructions and easily present the activities to your students.

Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum sets the foundation for their art education and will help them transform into little artists! To purchase the curriculum, click here.

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.