Heart-Mind Online offers resources to support play as a vehicle for learning many of the social emotional skills children need to thrive. Amongst these are Making, Tinkering and the Benefits of Hands-On Play and 5 Art Ideas to Boost Mood and Self-Expression in Young People.

The Heart-Mind Online article notes that hands-on play is a core value of the Maker Movement , designed to nurture curiosity and inventiveness through “making” activities such as building, crafting and tinkering, types of play that have been shown to be beneficial for building problem solving skills. “Making is playful, curious, and often seeks to solve real-life problems in innovative ways. Tinkering can be thought of as ‘thinking with your hands’, and involves a mix of experimenting and exploring, such as through taking an appliance apart and reassembling it or using the pieces for art.”

The article offers suggestions for creating a dedicated space, stocked with appropriate materials, to encourage children to start exploring with their hands and imagination. A free, downloadable Infographic is included outlining 5 Tips for Hands-On Play at 5 Tips for Hands-On Play Infographic (heartmindonline.org)

As the pandemic continues into its second year, art can form a valuable medium of expression for children to express the uncomfortable emotions they may be processing.

The article outlines the benefits of art-making for children and youth as including:

·      Improved mood

·      Elevated self-concept and awareness

·      Enhanced emotion regulation

·      Increased self-expression

The article quotes Dr. Nikki Martyn, Program Head of Early Childhood Studies at the University of Guelph-Humber, who has launched the Child Art research study https://www.childart.ca/home . The project us collecting children’s art work during the pandemic with “the hope that through understanding the child’s perspective through their own voice that we will be able to understand how to support and respond to children’s needs and understand implications of the future generations of this time in history.”

Three key points in approaching art-making with young children are recommended:

·      Focus on the relationship and assure the child that what they share, in pictures or in words, is private between the two of you

·      Use questions as a starting point to prompt the creative exercise, such as:

o   What does your family look like or feel like?

o   What would you want for the world, or for your family or your friends?

o   What would you like to be different when COVID/the pandemic finishes?

·      Let the child lead, even it takes the exercise in a different direction than you anticipated. “Doing so builds a sense of agency and empowerment in a time when young people need it the most.”

The suggested exercises include the following ideas with young children:

·      Encouraging the child to paint how music makes them feel (focus on feelings, rather than thinking).

·      Making a hand print and choosing a feeling, strength or hope to write on each finger.

·      Making a body outline tracing on paper to act as a “container” for images or objects that represent how the child feels.