Use Guided Imagery to Spark Your Child’s Imagination
by Dave Coates

You can give your child a marvelous art education experience that can take your child on a journey of creative discovery. Your child does not have to visit an unusual location in order to illustrate his or her vision of it. An adult can lead this imagination-boosting activity.

First, you’ll want to set up an art activity area. Don’t forget a protective table covering, depending upon what kinds of art supplies you plan to make available to your child. Have different sizes of white paper with lots of paints, markers and/or crayons and tools to draw and create. Guided imagery helps children tap their mind’s eye. Speak slowly with inflection as you read the passage below, and then see what blooms from your child’s imagination.

A Rainforest Adventure

Let’s visit the rainforest. Close your eyes. Grab your pretend camera and let’s climb aboard a magic carpet and fly over our neighborhood and out of town and though our country until you reach a tropical rainforest far, far away. Hold on tight as you swoop down through the dense grove of trees. You settle down upon the soft earth below. Keep your eyes closed and let your senses explore your environment. Smell the rich scent of tropic flowers and moist earth. Do you feel the sticky, warm air? Hear the buzzing of insects, whirring of small birds flying nearby, as well as the rustling of animals in the high tree canopies. A snake is lazily coiling around a nearby tree trunk. Is that a monkey overhead? Let your imagination capture what you see. Snap a few pictures of the amazing scenery. Perhaps it’s a colorful flower, a vast tree canopy, a tropical bird, a big bug, a slithering snake, or a long-tailed monkey swinging from the high branches. One thing is for sure: these are not sights you see at home!

Now, open your eyes and draw some of the pictures taken by your inner vision. Add color and detail that brings the images to life.

Courtesy of Abrakadoodle Remarkable Art™ © 2006 – visit us on the web at www.abrakadoodle.com.

Prior to acting on his love of children and passion for the arts by purchasing his franchises, Dave obtained is B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh. He also held several management positions in the Paints and Coatings Industry.  You can reach him at dcoates@abrakadoodle.com , by phone at 214-387-6969, or on the web at http://www.abrakadoodle.com


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