Artsy Thursday: Week of the Young Child through a behavior lens 🔎
Open-ended art materials are a fantastic way to spark creativity in young children while also working on many other aspects of development like fine motor skills, hand eye coordination, and even pro-social behaviors! Another great thing about art is it provides young children an opportunity to explore sensory materials.
⭐️Sensory materials are an overlooked item in the classroom. Sensory materials are a great regulation tool for those children who may become overstimulated or have a lot of energy to burn. Hence, why sensory items are a great tool to use to de-escalate challenging behaviors
⭐️ In our program, we encourage children to have unlimited access to art easels and sensory tables. Allowing children space and time to use art materials or sensory items on their own terms can help young children understand their bodies and use materials in their environment to help regulate their sensory needs.
⭐️ In moments of challenging behavior, allow children to regulate with play doh. Play doh can be moulded, pounded, pinched and rolled, which can have a calming and grounding effect. Crayons can provide a tactile-seeking child with high self movement input. Pencils and markers are restrictive and easy to control, and repetitive mark-making or doodling may lessen anxiety and anger.
#WOYC24 #NAEYC #BehaviorSpecialist #EducatorMentor #EarlyChildhood #SensoryExploration #SensoryIsImportant
#RegulationTechniques
Children develop creativity, social skills and fine motor skills with open-ended art projects where they can make choices, use their imaginations, and create with their hands.
To see your children's artwork featured on our social media, tag us and use the hashtag #WOYC24