Using Arts and Crafts to help your child develop

Children are inherently curious and children naturally love art, painting, drawing , making music etc!! Arts and crafts provides a way for a child to create something unique which gives a child a positive, constructive way for them to express themselves and their thoughts. Physiologically, the human brain consists of 2 parts, the left and the right hemisphere. The left brain is used in logical thinking and analytical processes. This is typically what is trained in school work that consists of math, reading and science. The right brain is used in emotional perception, intuition and creativity. This is touched upon in schools but I believe we need to act on a childs creative development from babies as these skills will also be important to how they live their lives!

Arts and crafts are a great developmental tool for children: its fun and educational. Children can partake in groups to build confidence and social intergration. But they are also valued for their self expression and for their personal and unique masterpieces. Arts and crafts for children offers personal satisfaction and a child will feel proud of themselves for what they have solely achieved. At the same time as having great fun.

It is important that children understand it is ok to be unique, that we are all different , we all have different skills and unique talents. Providing this self belief and individuality appreciation at am early age will avoid the risk of getting a low self esteem, and will allow children to enjoy and explore themselves and their talents without the need to feel they must be the same as their friends or siblings!

Crafts offer new exciting experiences and sensations as well as improving fine motory skill. By controlling brushes, crayons, sculpting clay, building blocks etc a child will learn how to use their small muscles in their fingertips for example.

With arts and crafts the object is fun, mess, play and free personal expression. Your little ones will make unique masterpieces that they will be proud of, it is important that the masterpieces are valued and displayed in order to infuse their confidence. All children who make something personal and unique that is treasured will love their individuality and will be happy to try new things, explore more things and develop from strength to strength as a result. A child who has low self esteem will not take risks and will not reach their full potential nor live a happy,healthy life that a child deserves.

As well as offering children escapism , leaving the real world and entering a fun creative free creative world, it is also improving their coordination and manual dexterity. With lots of different crafts and tools many new skills and experiences can be tried.By taking part in arts and crafts a child will also improve and develop their concentration skills and perseverance. Both of which are useful skills to take into school and adult working environments. Pateince and an understanding that sometimes putting in the extra effort, extra time for the harder crafts will pay off.

The benefits of arts and crafts are:

· Creativity skills are important as it is through creativity children learn their uniqueness and express their feelings.

· Creative arts develop children’s fine motory skills

· Arts and Crafts offer new experiences and sensations

· Arts and crafts can be interactive and social if done in groups. A creative environment is a happy one for children.

· Arts and crafts allow for personal self expression and being valued and appreciated for their unique masterpeices

· Creativity builds confidence for unique personal expression

· Arts and crafts is a great source of quality time with parents, siblings

· Creative arts are fun and educational

· Arts and Crafts builds confidence and self esteem

· Arts and Crafts offer the chance to make choices and build decision making skills

· Creative arts allows children expresses their emotions

· Arts and crafts sessions are great escapism for children from the real world into a creative world

· Arts and Crafts improve coordination and manual dexterity

· The creative arts improve and nurture concentration skills and perseverance

· Arts and crafts teach patience and that to get excellent results it could take harder work and time

Tips to make the arts a part of your childs development:

• Always make arts and crafts supply available and accessible to your child - paper, pencil, crayons, etc.

• Celebrate your child’s artwork – hang their drawings on the wall or save it in a folder. That way, your child feels that their creation is important.

• Read books – Ask the librarian at your school or public library to suggest books about the arts. ( a great book to build self esteem and confidence is The Magic Sunglasses. www.themagicsunglasses.com )

• Notice the arts all around you – take your family to museums, creative days, toddler groups etc. Notice the art even in the parks, subways, and open spaces. Start a conversation about what you see.

• Enjoy the arts at home – share your artistic skills and interests with your children. Find out what your kids love about the art and crafts.

• If your kid shows great interest or talent in certain arts and crafts nurture their esteem

• If possible, remind your kid’s school authorities about the importance of art in her education.

Benefits of CREATIVE PLAY for children

When we think of helping our children to develop we usually think of academic qualities like reading, writing, maths and concentration. But we really need to add creativity to that list of beneficial qualities. It is with creativity our children not only have fun and explore skills to make arts and crafts, play instrument’s, write songs – but more importantly it is through creative play that children learn skills that will help them tackle everyday life. It will help them solve problems, learn about themselves and learn to live successful, fulfilling and happy lives.

Creative Play has: Intellectual Benefits , Physical Benefits , Emotional Benefits , Social Benefits

So with this in mind CREATIVITY is an asset we need to help all of our children nurture and develop. But I stress to parents with shy children more so….. Interactive Creative Play is essential self esteem building, confident boosting and positive thinking for their own self expression which ultimately will help them adapt to a social world where communication and connection to others will help them live fulfilled and empowered lives which will embed the notion of self respect, respect for others and the ambition to reach their full potential.

Creativity helps children reflect and understand their own feelings and inner thoughts, which ultimately helps them deal with issues and develop with a healthier outlook on their own strengths and abilities.They will try new things, learn new skills and be happy!

Being creatuve nurtures a childs emotional health as they explore personal feelings and experiences in a fun and playful way, without judgement. We as adults love “ME” time – the same is for children. Creative play allows for uniqueness , exploration of special talents and a fun playtime that draws the child away from stresses in their lives into their imagination and happy/safe place.

Creative learning shows children its fun to be spontaneous and impulsive. It allows children to have fun, to be playful without regimentation.Through which they can escape away from the real world.

How to help your child be creative:

Inspire them to be creative by being creative yourself. Perhaps act out scenarios which will explore their feelings and allow them to express themselves in a playful way.

Provide creative environment, provide equipment such as paints, moulding clay, pens, colouring pencils, props, puppets, costumes, toys , mud clay , plastersine, lego, building blocks, cuddly toys, musical instruments etc. Make time for creative play. And make it colourful with stimulus for inspiration and imagination.

Make objects, homemade things, great to find special talents and spending time escaping real life.

Dramatic play & improvisation, acting out scenarios will help children express their true inner feelings.

Creative movement playing games like head shoulders knees and toes , follow the leader and simon says is not only great for co-ordination but it teaches listening skills and interaction if in a big group.

Classes and groups – These are great for interaction as well as exploring their own self expression. These build social skills and emotional skills. A winning suggestion!!

www.themagicsunglasses.com has great interactive workshops for children. It also has a great creative workbook for parents and a great book which will help children imagination and self esteem.

Shy children are being diagnosed with "social anxiety disorder" and treated with prozac. Should we not turn to confidence booster techniques instead?

So now psycologists are telling us a shy child has social anxiety and a sad child has depression. What’s their solution. Prozac! HEY!!!? Surely careful support by parents, teachers, coaches, play groups, children’s authors, child practitioners will be a better solution. There is a wealth of help and support for shy children. We need Confidence boosters for children not Prozac!!! Theres a name for a beneficial facebook group if there ever was one!

The reason I am discussing this is the new guidelines in place in America for treating shy children with drugs for social anxiety disorder. Do we want this brought over to the UK? I’d suggest strongly – NO!! Kate Fallon, general secretary of the Association of Educational Psychologists, told delegates: “In 2013 we’re expecting new criteria for the definition of mental illness to be adopted here in the UK. These criteria will lead to many more children being diagnosed as mentally ill, based on reports of their behaviours.” So I ask: Is shyness a mental disorder that needs treating? Or something a lot of children go through while they learn about the world and about themselves? Surely its support and not drugs that our children need.

Martin Beckford, Health Correspondent in the Telegraph states our shy children “could be prescribed powerful medication such as Prozac or Ritalin to control or alter their behaviour.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8763431/Shy-children-at-risk-of-being-diagnosed-with-mental-disorder.html What ? What about long lasting effects? What about dealing with problems?What about finding solutions? Working through issues? What about social interaction and communication skill building? There are all things we need to learn and through experience and knowledge can be found easily.

Recent figures show 650,000 children aged between eight and 13 are on pscyhotropic drugs, up from just 9,000 two decades ago, while others are taking Prozac for depression or anxiety. Fears are growing that the number of children diagnosed with mental disorders and prescribed drugs will increase still further after 2013, when a new “bible” of the psychiatric profession is published. This is called DSM. The British Psychological Society have raised concerns about the proposed revisions to the DSM.

Prof Peter Kinderman, chairman of the society’s Division of Clinical Psychology, said: “We’re not certain that a diagnosis and a medical response is the best way to help these kids.” Here, Here!

Understand and help , not diagnose and treat with medication.

I was a very shy child at school. I would feel too shy to ask for a new work book once mine had finished… but yet through growing up my job is singing and entertaining thousands of people across the country every weekend. Thank goodness I dealt with my problem and didn’t turn to medication , else id be the same now. Hiding behind others, feeling intimidated by other people, feeling insecure, having low self esteem. But I did not have a mental disorder and I strongly suggest neither do most of our shy children. I recommend some other methods of help. Lets help our children now by helping them;

· Boost their Self Esteem

· Improve their Confidence

· Find their special talents

· Explore their strengths

· Interact and socialize in groups they enjoy

· Find a respect for themselves and others

· Form friendships

· Appreciate their uniqueness

Where can you find support for these confidence builders

· Local Community Centres

· Play Groups/Toddler Groups/ Activity Groups

· Childrens Books that include these issues of confidence , esteem and self respect

· Workshops/Drama Groups/Music Groups

I would highly recommend that shy children read The Magic Sunglasses and join the website www.themagicsunglasses.com . So they can interact and learn about shyness and how you can live successful, happy and confident lives. Auriel Blanche the wonderful author and founder of The Magic Sunglasses project connects and empowers children across the UK with this book and workshop. It’s a great benefit for children who are shy- and it beats taking them to the doctors to merely be diagnosed from a book and treated with medication which will not help them over come their shyness problem!!

Lets empower our shy children to socialise and interact with others by finding others of a similar age and similar interests to help form friendships, learn about each other and themselves. We are all special and equal. A positive child, a confident child and an empowered child will strive for success, strive for their potential and live a more fun and satisfying life- We owe our children the best. So please please help your children and do not abide to the DSM and the psychologists who are stopping our shy children from being happy!!

Can we help our children love to read?

Yes we can with the help of fantastic authors that inspire childrens imaginations. If a child identifies with the characters, or a book makes them feel good about themselves and improves their selfesteem , they will choose to read books and enjoy to read books.

Why do we need to encourage reading you ask? Because it improves literacy levels , it is educational , it offer stimulus for creative imagination , it is a great source of entertainment away from the computer/tv screen, it will improve concentration , help children explore new opportunities, adventures , experiences. When a parent reads with a child it is great for quality time - one to one - and strengthens the personal relationship and bonding. ,Reading together improves a childs communication skills and helps them learn about language and speech , rhythm for reading and and understanding that reading can be fun and sociable.

So how do we encourage children to love to read? Well I looked first at the Love 2 Read website which offers the opportunity to create personalised books , that children will love.

“The aim of each unique book is to help your child develop a love of reading. It does this by presenting photographs which reflect your child’s world and relating them to simple words. Research shows that if your child loves books they will learn to read much faster and you will be encouraging a lifelong love of reading.” http://www.love2read.co.uk/

A personaised book will make a child feel special and boost their self esteem. It will motivate them to read more books im sure.

There are many other options to inspire reading, not just personalised books. Parents are the most fundamental role models for children, so if we could just encourage them to offer a book to their child, read to them or with them , then the hard work will be done by the time the child goes to school.

A child could be motivated into books by workshops, activities and fun classes that would co-inside with the book. One I would recommend would be The magic sunglasses , written by Auriel Blanche. Who not only has a story that many children enjoy , but the book also offers stimulus for workshops to run along with the book. The Magic Sunglasses itself promotes the encouragement and connection of children. It helps boost confidence and self esteem for each individual. A great read!! www.themagicsunglasses.com

My Top Tips to help your children love reading :

Make books accessible for your child, read to them, have books around the house, take a child to a library (many are children friendly)

Show your child that you also read books. Children see their parents as role models and like to imitate what the see their parents doing.

Give a book as a gift ! children love gifts, it makes them feel special. They will love a book , given with love.

Make Reading Fun!! This can be with how you read a story together, perhaps play games, have activities related to the story. Make sure the books are inspiring and fun themselves. Maybe use puppets, song, etc

Children will find spending time with a parent a good reason to read - turn off the TV and any other distraction and give full enthusiastic attention.

Written by Kaley Herrick ,researcher of child development related to the creative arts.

Can we rely on parents and celebrities to be good role models?

We all know that children are at their most vulnerable and impressionable age. While they are learning and experiencing new things they are actively taking in anything and everything around them. A child will copy or imitate any behavior they see as they have no other option than to believe that this is the normal and correct way to act. A child is also blessed with having that innocence to behave in the exact way they feel at the exact time they wish to feel it. This is an act of impulse and not an act that they have necessarily observed.

Obviously in most cases the child's parents are the first form of positive learning. A child will copy a parent eat, drink, cover their mouth when they cough, clean their teeth, say sorry when they do something wrong and clean up when they make a mess. They can also learn valuable lesson from their parents like to get straight up and try again even when you've fallen over, learn to read, potty training, learn to share, learn what is right and learn what is wrong. It would be perfect if every parent was a perfect role model but we know this isn’t the case. We also know that many external factors like school, friends, tv programmes, computer games and the such can ruin all the perfect parents' hard work.

So for these reasons we cannot rely purely on parents alone for ROLE MODEL SECURITY even if they are ‘perfect parents’!

So then we look to people in the public eye. These being celebrities, famous actors, singers, athletes, olympians. Do our children really look to history for their role models nowadays? Unfortunately I think popular culture tends to rule when role models are concerned. But can we rely on real people being good role models. People make mistakes remember!! But maybe this is also ok to teach children…. So we have popular celebrities who do have positive effects without much threat of tabloid negativity. We have Peter Andre a great dad, who is encouraging the nation to help their children to enjoy reading again. We have Gok Wan helping our teens to be confident , have self belief to tackle their anxieties. We have Jamie Oliver encouraging healthy eating for our children. But unfortunately we have other role models causing controversy. With racism on the field with John Terry, Xfactor stars on drugs, Miley Cyrus caught on camera in nightly antics , can we really trust the celebrities? Where as I personally quite like Katie Price aka Jordan and appreciate her business and family focus, is it wise to let your child find a role model in her? Should a child look up to Victoria Beckham she may be a great mum and another business woman, but is promoting that beauty in being stick thin and having unhealthy diets a great way to teach your child to be. Is it wise that a child looks up to Lindsey Lohan in her many roles in children's films including Freaky Friday. When she is actually a misled lady involved in binge drinking and drugs?

Maybe we shouldn’t rely on the celebs? So if we cant rely on celebs or the parents? Surely the only alternatives to ensure a healthy role model is to use historians , who cannot let our children down. Florence Nightingale, Mother Theresa, Otto Schindler, Nelson Mandela , Ann Frank , Ghandi , Issac Newton , Martin Luther King, etc . But is this realistic, we cant pick role models for the children they choose them themselves?

So I put to you my opinion – The only role models we can truly rely upon are creative stimulus, ie characters in books, characters in TV programmes and the such? For example The Magic Sunglasses Project includes great role models. A book that continues into a workshop, then ongoing stories for your child to develop and learn. Auriel Blanche the author, understands children and their need for a positive role model. Her overall ambition is to connect and empower children on a global scale. Within her creative and innovative writing she inspires children to appreciate their self worth and to live happy and emotionally healthy lives. She engages children through her stories to use their imaginations to explore their dreams and to reach with in for their personal powers and specialties. She encourages children to live with respect for others and act with good manners and healthy attitudes. Throughout the book Samantha is always polite and friendly. She is playful and imaginative. She enjoys making her dreams come true and strives to reach her potential. She is a happy child, enthusiastic and charismatic. She is respectful of others and through self discovery learns how to cope with the challenges she faces with optimism and self worth. All of which are attributes that a role model should inspire to give. Samantha gives many good examples that the reader can emulate and learn from and is therefore a great role model. So please if you have a child please introduce them to Samantha. Have a look yourself at The Magic Sunglasses website - http://www.themagicsunglasses.com

Empowering Children to Value Themselves

Victorian values state that “..Children should be seen and not heard...” During this time a child’s life would be determined by their parents or guardians. Hopefully parents will share a more contemporary view on this and help to empower their children to value themselves and to live confident and happy lives.

By obtaining a strong relationship with themselves they will equip themselves with abilities and positivity to try. They will then evolve into helping each other which will inevitably result in a connection and empowerment of children globally. Children process information from the world around them much differently than adults, they have distinct needs for managing the effects of stress and trauma but with a highly developed sense of consciousness for their feelings, they will then be able to manage fear, anger, anxiety and any other circumstances trying to cause effect to their wellbeing.

With a healthy sense of individuality, children will be able to help themselves and help others with respect, sensitivity and empathy, resulting in the connectivity of children worldwide.

So the main quest for adults is to help children learn valuable life skills early, which will mean that they will be better able to deal with challenging situations when they are older. Thus nurturing their own strives for personal life enrichment.

Empowerment is a key ingredient in maximizing children's potential in academic achievement, social success, and personal happiness. This is obviously an arduous process; it is not instantly going to be achieved. It is important that many methods combine together to reach the desired result. There are many innovative forms of empowerment methods available.

The empowerment of children to find their true values is a statement , which was the inspiration behind the motivation for The Magic Sunglasses Project. This project was initiated by the children's Story Book ‘ The Magic Sunglasses' written by Auriel Blanche.(also known as Angela Buck) When this inspirational writer first wrote the book it was to stress her ideal for promoting the ethos of creating a worldwide community of children who have learnt how to value themselves and to use their potential, to live personally successful lives and contribute to the success of others. She does this effectively through her skill of creative and innovative writing which engages children of all ages. Since the book Auriel Blanche has developed what is now known as The Magic Sunglasses Project. Through which she successfully taps into many children's spirits on a global scale, making them visualize desirable outcomes and make positive connections with their inner purpose.

By promoting understanding of diversity and respect for others, Auriel Blanche also works on developments of inner self through imagination and visualisation. Her main focus is on self awareness, new possibilities and problem resolution. Other areas of intent are environmental appreciation, conflict management, awareness of others, global awareness and education of current events.

She believes that it is imperative that children know that their opinion matters and that they can offer something positive to others. By connecting with themselves children can find answers to their own problems and others. With this new found power children can then see a dream and strive to reach it with positivity and a pro active attitude.

Hopefully with the help of other influential parents – Auriel Blanche can help develop a world where children are not just seen and not heard. Where children can be empowered to strive for great things, appreciate their own self worth and be motivated to help others. Self sufficiency in children at an early age will certainly help the population develop with positivity and the will to try.

Auriel Blanche wishes to develop her project further afield. So that children all over the world are connected and empowered. She hopes that one day we will live in a world where a child in a village stricken with poverty in Africa can be helped by a child far away, living in a completely different world but with knowledge and confidence to understand and help. A great incentive for us to all help and get involved. Please view the website : http://www.themagicsunglasses.com/

Making Children Happy

Children need to be supplied with as many positive and influential affirmations as possible to encourage them to be happy and live bright and meaningful lives, with endless opportunities. They can only be enticed to do so with help from the adults around them. Different forms of positive encouragements have been researched, especially for the cases where children do not necessarily have great role models at home.

Research has shown that children develop best through their own discovery and self-learning. For this reason when a child looses themselves in their imaginations – of course guided by a positive medium like a book , a film, a workshop, an activity – this is their best time for learning.
Through my studies I came across ‘The Magic Sunglasses project’ lead by the children’s author Auriel Blanche. Auriel Blanche successfully taps into many children’s spirits on a global scale, making them visualise desirable outcomes and make positive connections with their inner purpose. She does this through her skill of creative and innovative writing which engages children of all ages. Along with her interactive workshops and programs, The Magic Sunglasses, her acclaimed children’s fun fantasy book is a must read for all children in today’s society. Especially for those who are saddened with a low self esteem and those who seem unhappy. The meaning and purpose of The Magic Sunglasses - is fundamentally to motivate a child by imagination and creativity. Make-believe is important to intellectual development and mental health. It is an integral part of childhood, it is this that will inevitably make them happy.

The main character in the book, namely Samantha, is a character that a child with a lack of confidence can relate to. She too hasn’t fully discovered that she has a special value all her own. Throughout the story she finds a power that the reader will be inspired to find in themselves. The books motivation is to show we all have that special value, which we can use to help us live the lives we really want and to be happy. The magic sunglasses in their physical form mysteriously find their way to Samantha. They have wonderful powers which support her and show her what you can do if you really try! The important notion behind the story is that these possibilities are still achievable when she no longer has the glasses, as she forms her own abilities and the confidence to try. The results this book entails is seen in the readers improvement of personal motivation, their positivity for their own capabilities, their respect for their own special values and the optimisms for their own self worth. The main and key ethos being, helping children to live happy lives.

When a story actually transforms a child's life, bringing joy and happiness to them, you know the story is a winner. This touching, inspirational and heart-warming plot has repeatedly been transformed into optimistic true life stories for many children who have read it. From some of which, Auriel has been inundated with positive testimonials, rewarding reviews and written letters of compliments. Auriel invites children globally to explore their dreams, strive to their potential, to not limit themselves and independently enrich their own lives. With The Magic Sunglasses, they are free from objective restraints with encouragement to explore possibilities. As they read how another child (Samantha) plays and dreams they do the same. They too imagine themselves to be a superstar, singing to the adoring crowds. They too can pretend to be dressing up as a princess or a super hero. They too can imagine being able to eat as many sweets, cookies and ice cream as they like. They can also make play of their own nightmares of witches and goblin, and overcome them with confidence and ambition enthused throughout the book.

A child with this negative attitude will never achieve resolutions without an assisted positive view point. It is important that a child can understand that any problem is temporary and can be resolved if you just try. With these positive qualities a child can be happy and motivated to live life with confidence and enjoyment. When a child sits down with a book, they are in a comfortable environment, in an imaginative place away from the negative aspects of life. This is the most perfect time to inspire upbeat outlooks and encourage the use of optimism.
I find Auriel Blanche to be an extremely influential writer and The Magic Sunglasses should be in every family household. We hope she will be inspiring and empowering children for years to come.

To explore many more interesting projects as well as the other amazing inspirations The Magic Sunglasses holds, all you need to do is click on the link – http://www.themagicsunglasses.com/ Please encourage any children you know to read this book or visit the website. We can then help many other children to trust their own abilities, to respect others, to believe in themselves and create a humble, happy and positive world to live in.
For more information and up and coming events, workshops and book signings – Please go to http://www.themagicsunglasses.com