My love and knowledge of art grew as I became an adult.  I took every art class I could at school. I chose to go to college and take art classes as electives while choosing a career in medicine. Following school, I chose to enjoy art as a hobby. Learning from books and workshops to develop my art talent, because it gave me joy. Then, I chose to make a living doing what I love, creating and teaching art. 

I hope you noticed how many times I used "choice" in the paragraph above. It was intentional, because our teenage years and beyond are important times in our life where we create our lives through our choices.  Our choices shape our future, determine who we are, what we become and where we go in our life.  That is why I call the artistic development stage from 13 and up, the Creator Stage. This is when we are creating our lives. 

​I remember art being a HUGE part of my life from kindergarten through third grade. When I was eight years old, I answered an About Me assignment  with, "I love art, I think I am good at it." Ya, humble for sure. What stands out to me when I read that, is that I was encouraged by others and I thought I was good at something. 

Parents can foster a child's love for art by understanding the different stages of art development. This understanding  helps us teach our children in ways that develop their art skills, and more importantly, encourages them  to love art and creativity. 

I've learned while teaching kids art that encouragement should be the focus at an early age, and discouragement can happen all to quickly when the art lessons are not developmentally appropriate. 

Art was one of my FAVORITE activities as a young child, and it still is! Kids love art because they get to have a bit of control and create something. Art helps kids in so many ways, not only for fun memories, but to reduce stress, learn skills and express themselves in a safe, and wonderful way. 

Parents can plant the seed of love for art in their children by giving them opportunities to create art and making it fun.