a little bit of art for little people

'...and remember you mustn't eat it' - said my daughter to herself while opening a paint pot.


I couldn't wait for that moment, when Odessa is ready to grab the brush and make her first paintings. 
I saw us together painting and drawing and everything in my dream was easy, beautiful... and clean.


Unfortunately the reality tends to be different...
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The thing about toddlers is that they are a bit clumsy, the word 'experiment' has no limits and they like to do things they are not allowed to do. Anyone who would like to see an example should come to my home and see the frescos pasted over our walls that my little girl has managed to create...


I think it's important to give them the right 'tools' (i.e., age appropriate), tools which they would find interesting to use without damaging the space around them, or themselves. Yes I do believe in freedom, in being creative, and I love my daughter experimenting, but I also do like my home, and I don't want have her attempts of drawing rabbits heads all over my sitting room floor.


First of all I would like recommend the Early Learning centre and their basic range for arts and crafts. They are decent quality products and ELC stock all the basic items your child would need to start their adventure in art.  Everything is on sale now and is fairly inexpensive.


These are few items I bought for Odessa and found very useful:
1. Easy painters by ELC (at the moment on sale - two pounds for set of five bottles!!).  They are great for painting without making much mess... a very simple idea - bottles with paint with a little sponge in the end - you just need press on paper and it paints. I Like them because I can leave her with them by herself without worrying there is going be red paint all over carpets. 

  
2.  Non spill paint pots (ELC and again only two pounds for set of six). Of course you need to buy paint to put it inside which costs around 50p at the moment... they are a brilliant idea, I  came across them in my local one o'clock club and many toddlers really enjoy using them. Basically children dip their brush in pots, but the design of them prevents the paint from spilling out, you can twist the lid to close the pot so the paint doesn't dry.

ELC also stock some lovely sets of sponges, rolling pins, art starter kits, crayons (I would advise buying several types kind of crayons in different shapes so you can see which one are the best for your child). There are many other nice products on sale at ELC, so check their website (art and creativity section).


I buy paper in our local £1 shop where they do A3 and A2 pads. A  pound is a great price for such a big format (which I think is the best for little ones as it can cover a desk so they can't draw on it).

Of course Djeco does beautiful art and craft products (some of them deserve a separate post) - but this time I would like to recommend the stamps they do...I got Odessa the one with geometric shapes (as I noticed she is very interested in shapes and pointing them out all the time). For example she was was pointing at the roof of a house we passed by telling me "it's a triangle"). I wanted to show her how she can incorporate this observation into her own pictures. So her djeco stamps contain plain pictures and you create detail using the different stamps (for example, triangles as cats ears, circles for eyes etc.).
Djeco also sells very pretty stencils which little children often like. 


My last suggestion would be or parents to experiment themselves  and come up with their own idea of what could be used a painting tool.
The lady at Odessa's art class once gave them little cars to dip into paint and then got them to 'drive' all over the paper... 


On Odessa's last birthday party kids picked apples from the garden and painted them rather than the paper I prepared for them. There are plenty of possibilities: stamps from potatoes or you can colour leaves or sea shells... my daughter likes when I paint the sea so she can 'fill' it with little fish.


Odessa did try to eat her paint despite her own very clear suggestions (see above), judging from her facial expression the paint did not taste as she expected and let's hope she has learnt from that experience...

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Another great find from Djeco, for under ten pounds - a duo number puzzle. It is a very simple idea with pretty pictures. You need to match the correct amount of animals with the right number.
Odessa counts everything at the moment, even the peas on her plate and this little puzzle really helped her to start recognizing actual numbers. It says 3+ I would recommend it from two-and-a-half upwards.

domino

Vive La France! Et merci pour Djeco! It is definitely one of my favourite toy/arts/craft companies, mainly because it is so pleasant on the eye, plus it's good quality. Their products encourage being creative and are affordable. The other important aspect for me is that they do lots of games, puzzles or art activities for preschoolers (Odessa is only 3), and there are not  many interesting products for that age group on the market.
I will slowly show what Djeco items I have found for Odessa,  starting with her animal dominoes.

"Where is panda's bum?" 


And where is rabbit's head?


My daughter was commenting while playing with the above mentioned dominoes today. 


It's very simple -  you need to match animals parts together - great for observation skills and introducing idea of multi-player games... perfect for rainy afternoons.
Like I have mentioned before, Djeco is available in many online stores. I bought this toy from Peanut & Pip for £6.99.

the other rabbit and the puzzle with a cat

'Where has sun gone!?!!' - I was woken by my daughter's scream in the middle of night. 'Mummy is looking for sun?' she asked - which pretty much means 'Mother bring me the Sun right now'. 
And then Tim and I had to spend 30 minutes at 4AM explaining about the sun shining during day time but sleeping (like all the well behaved  children) at night...


No I can't give her everything I'm not going find the sun under her bed like when one of her rabbits is missing, but I can try to do my best.  




The main idea behind choosing Odessa's Christmas presents was to keep her positively (read: "away from the telly") occupied during winter cold and rainy days. During summer we used stay outside with our local friends until late evening, but now the season of  running in the park at 6pm is finished... it is getting dark much earlier and everyone is hiding at home. 

Also, it was important for us not to bankrupt ourselves (again!)  - there is still life after Christmas and hundreds of things to pay for (the gas bill for example).

And last, but most importantly, we wanted to buy her something she actually would like to have.  When I asked her what she wants  from Santa, she said 'another rabbit' - which is pretty much her answer for everything (Odessa is rabbit obsessed) and she also mentioned a jigsaw puzzle of a cat. 

And this is what we found for her.....

'Best Storybook Ever' by Richard Scarry. And it actually is exactly what it says it is... the best storybook ever! We are all in love with this book, Odessa starts her day reading it over  breakfast, and its the last thing in her hand before she falls  asleep at night. It's beautifully illustrated and has got a bit of a vintage feel (it is relatively old), its funny and quirky and you can find so many topics in there - numbers, the alphabet, colours,seasons, short stories and longer ones, poems, nursery rhymes,  honestly the list doesn't end - it's around 300 pages (great for expanding vocabulary) ...and wow! it cost me 7.48 on Amazon - half price at the moment. 

Also got a few sticker books - one of which was about Christmas (as I am trying to introduce the idea of Christmas to Odessa - she understands more now than year ago). The book I settled on was from The Usborne Company, which I highly recommend for sticker books, as they are not only visually very pleasant, but good quality with lots different subjects (again the best prices are on Amazon).


And yes I did find the puzzle with the cat... this one is from "Djeco" - you can't go wrong with "Djeco" - my favourite toy company which I worship for their beautiful designs. Odessa already has got a rabbit and chicken from this puzzle series, so she kind of collects them. Puzzles are great for kids - they  exercise their logical thinking and problem solving -  you can discuss the images with them piece by piece... a very positive toy. And yes of course she loved it and keeps playing with it,  although it does take her 3 minutes at the moment to complete, so I need to think about something more complicated in future.
You can find Djeco products all over internet and in few high street shops like Letterbox. 

djeco cat puzzle

A rabbit. This time it's a little rabbit shaped lamp which lights in many colours (3 pounds from Tiger)


CDs; at the moment her favourite artist is Elizabeth Mitchell (very simple and magical folk music for children). I also got her a CD of French music for children called "French Playground"  which haven't listened to yet (I am going write about musical  experiences in another post).


Also got a clarinet from Tiger (four pounds).  We are collecting different musical instruments - its great fun especially when her friends are over and they can play them together.  


Her auntie Paula brought her gorgeous alphabet flash cards - 'my favourite things, A.B.C.'  by Petitcollage.  I am trying slowly teach Odessa letters so a very useful educational present.

Theatre: My partner Tim and I both believe experiences are more worthwhile than possessions, so our favourite present this year will be taking Odessa and her friend Lelia to the Komedia Theatre in Brighton to see my daughter's favourite puppet theatre group called 'Long Nose'.  We have seen them twice already in London and every time she was over the moon (she even ran over the stage during the show!!). She doesn't know about it yet it is going be a massive surprise! 


There is one more factor when choosing presnts for my daughter...  hmmm, it's me actually, Tim calls me a 'toy fascist' as I am quite fussy I just like things to look good... I do value interesting and beautiful designs. And there is certain 'ugliness' on the market that I would not have in my home. I also think it's important to "shape" your child's tastes from early age.


So all together we just managed to spend around 100 pounds which is good I guess. And yes they all keep her busy and happy.. and look good on her bedroom shelves.