Art therapy activities for children

Art therapy activities for children

art therapy involves the use of techniques andcreative activities such as drawing, painting, collage, coloring or sculpting to help children express themselves artistically and examine the psychological and emotional nuances of their creations.

Art therapy can help people of all ages, including children! 🙂

In other words, anyone with a desire and/or need to explore their emotions, alleviate stress or anger, help with anxiety and depression, or even help faced with an illness or a handicap, can practice an artistic activity.

Art therapy activities are also a great way to let go of the mind and have a fun time!

The goal of art therapy is not to produce a painting, a sculpture and turn it into a masterpiece.
The objective concerns the process of creation. That is to say, to exteriorize what we have inside ourselves through artistic practice.

So you don’t need to be an experienced artist for this form of therapy to work! #enjoy 🙂

A creative adult is a child who survived

Ursula K. Le Guin

Here are 6 art therapy activity ideas for kids

#1 – Color Paper Collage

This first activity is easy and versatile.

You can either do the prep work or have the children do it themselves. Older people may like to participate in the preparation.

All you need are different colors of paper, scissors and glue.

Cut the paper or even tear it into small pieces. The pieces can be regular, like small squares or irregular, depending on the inspiration and desire of the children.
Put all the paper pieces on a plate and glue in a small jar. Put glue on the opposite side of the pieces of paper to encourage bilateral hand integration or midline crossing for little ones motor skills!

Give some ideas or an image model so that they can reproduce it with these little pieces of paper…

For example a sunset over the ocean or a little girl with a dog, birthday balloons or even their favorite cartoon character.

Frame the masterpiece or simply hang it on the fridge. It will cause great pride for children.

#2 – Design a T-Shirt

This activity can be enjoyed by people of all ages! 🙂

All you need is a plain or white tee and fabric markers. You can also use fabric paint.

The trickiest part of this activity is making the tee stay flat and still while drawing on it.
I recommend that you use cardboard to secure the tee with tape.

Scribble, write, draw!

The child can, for example, draw a big heart in the center of the T-shirt and decorate it according to his inspiration! 🙂

You may also be interested in this article
5 exercises to (re)awaken your creativity

#3 – Fashion Show

Who hasn’t tried on their parents’ or older siblings’ clothes for a fashion show?

Kids can create outfits for themselves with clothes and accessories that are already in your family’s closets and drawers. But they can also create their own clothes with someone else’s scarves, belts and clothes.

This activity is also a great opportunity to show off your best disguises for an improvised fashion show! Don’t forget to take photos to immortalize this moment 😉

A good time of fun for young and old! 🙂

#4 – Creative plate

This creative activity makes it possible to appreciate food for its social power, its aesthetics and of course its taste!

Whether it’s simply arranging tomatoes and cucumber slices or as complex as frosting and decorating a cake. The goal is to create for the pleasure of the eyes and the taste buds!

Don’t forget to take a photo of your child’s artwork to share with a friend or relative.

The creative plate is also a great way to get children to taste new fruits and vegetables to teach them to diversify and balance their diet, by arousing their curiosity 😉

#5 – Modeling clay

Play dough is a staple in most homes with young children.

Kids can create a beautiful rainbow with separate color pastes or a color globe with abstract shapes you can’t even name. You can do this activity with the “no mixing” rule and avoid getting it everywhere! 😉

However, this activity is very rewarding for them!

For a first step towards sculpting, try air-hardening clay and create an artist’s studio atmosphere!

#6 – Dance Routine

Children love to listen to music and improvise choreography while dancing.

A dance routine isn’t just freestyle. It incorporates certain movements into certain parts of the song, such as on a chorus for example.

Children can also try to reproduce a choreography of a clip and you can also participate!

Guaranteed fun and guaranteed laughs!

In addition to enjoying this moment of sharing together, this activity allows you to exercise physically. Win-win effect! 🙂

In conclusion, art therapy promotes emotional awareness, self-expression, visual perception skills, motor skills and spirituality. Art is about expressing thoughts and emotions in an abstract way. It’s fun and effective. Plus, there are so many mediums and activities to choose from. Try them all! 🙂

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Do not hesitate to suggest your ideas for creative activities for children 🙂

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