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I have a 7 yr old boy and a 3 yr old girl. I need ideas on decorating their rooms without painting them. Thanks.
Answer
1. Cover wall space with your child's own original artwork.
2. For young children, use crepe paper on a roll (available at teacher's supply or craft shops) for finger, sponge, or other tactile painting. You can lay the paper flat, let your child paint to her/his heart's content, and then hang the finished painting from your child's wall. Another method is to hang blank sheets from ceiling to floor like wallpaper and let your child 'body paint' right onto the wall. This can be a fun activity for the whole family, as long as you don't mind getting a little messy yourself. Make handprints, footprints, and splatters. It's like coloring the walls, but without the parental wrath and permanent damage.
3. Older children may already have a collection of artwork from school art classes. Turn your child's room into a mini-museum by framing your child's drawings and paintings with paper, pegboard, or wooden frames, and hanging them throughout the room.
4. Finally, pre-teens will enjoy the time-honored tradition of the magazine collage. Use a removable, non-damaging adhesive (such as Sticky Tack) to arrange clipped pictures of movie stars, favorite musicians, and coveted shoes all over the walls. The best part of this decorating technique is that your child can add to it every day.
5. Liven up white walls.
6. If your child's heart is set on changing the color of the walls entirely, try using wallpaper - without actually pasting it up. Take a trip to the home goods store and pick out paper samples or remnants. Don't worry if the remnants aren't large enough to cover the whole wall - creating a collage of different patterns and colors is part of the fun.
7. To add texture, choose some fabric remnants from a crafts store to hang as tapestries. If your child sleeps in a bunk bed, fabrics can be hung from the sideboards to create a "tent". This can make the room feel bigger, and creates a great place for pretend!
8. Add 3-dimensional interest.
9. Hanging mobiles aren't just for babies. Fill some space in the room by fashioning a "chandelier" out of old toys, stuffed animals, or any lightweight objects. Older children might enjoy making mobiles that reflect their hobbies. Baseball cards, old ballet slippers, and sports ribbons are all good materials.
10. Hanging fabric from the walls - attached only at the top with some neat finishing nails - adds a splash of color to a room, and you can always take it down. Also try hanging picture frames (with nails through the fabric) on top of the fabric sheet to have a nice picture collage.
11. Add decorative knobs to the furniture. Thousands are available now, you'll find one that will relate to something important in your child's life - their favorite sport, an animal they love... You can even get them really involved by letting them paint their own knobs!
12. Self-stick, peelable, wallpaper borders, murals, and designs. They do not damage the walls, yet add a lot of color and character. Has your son out-grown ABC's and cartoon cars? Peel them off, wash the walls, stick on the Batman borders and stickers. They are available at many places that sell wallpaper as well as on-line. They will last for a year at least. Actually, these self-stick borders are nice for adding an easy splash of color to any room. Some of these products are 'cheap-looking' (like shelf paper), but many are indistinguishable from quality wallpaper.
13. Remember to hang art and other decorations low enough for the child to appreciate... and yes, touch. Too many nicely-decorated children's rooms have the pictures, shelves, etc. all at adult height. Who cares if it looks like it came out of a magazine? Whose room is it anyway? Put that ABC poster down at toddler level so she can appreciate it.
1. Cover wall space with your child's own original artwork.
2. For young children, use crepe paper on a roll (available at teacher's supply or craft shops) for finger, sponge, or other tactile painting. You can lay the paper flat, let your child paint to her/his heart's content, and then hang the finished painting from your child's wall. Another method is to hang blank sheets from ceiling to floor like wallpaper and let your child 'body paint' right onto the wall. This can be a fun activity for the whole family, as long as you don't mind getting a little messy yourself. Make handprints, footprints, and splatters. It's like coloring the walls, but without the parental wrath and permanent damage.
3. Older children may already have a collection of artwork from school art classes. Turn your child's room into a mini-museum by framing your child's drawings and paintings with paper, pegboard, or wooden frames, and hanging them throughout the room.
4. Finally, pre-teens will enjoy the time-honored tradition of the magazine collage. Use a removable, non-damaging adhesive (such as Sticky Tack) to arrange clipped pictures of movie stars, favorite musicians, and coveted shoes all over the walls. The best part of this decorating technique is that your child can add to it every day.
5. Liven up white walls.
6. If your child's heart is set on changing the color of the walls entirely, try using wallpaper - without actually pasting it up. Take a trip to the home goods store and pick out paper samples or remnants. Don't worry if the remnants aren't large enough to cover the whole wall - creating a collage of different patterns and colors is part of the fun.
7. To add texture, choose some fabric remnants from a crafts store to hang as tapestries. If your child sleeps in a bunk bed, fabrics can be hung from the sideboards to create a "tent". This can make the room feel bigger, and creates a great place for pretend!
8. Add 3-dimensional interest.
9. Hanging mobiles aren't just for babies. Fill some space in the room by fashioning a "chandelier" out of old toys, stuffed animals, or any lightweight objects. Older children might enjoy making mobiles that reflect their hobbies. Baseball cards, old ballet slippers, and sports ribbons are all good materials.
10. Hanging fabric from the walls - attached only at the top with some neat finishing nails - adds a splash of color to a room, and you can always take it down. Also try hanging picture frames (with nails through the fabric) on top of the fabric sheet to have a nice picture collage.
11. Add decorative knobs to the furniture. Thousands are available now, you'll find one that will relate to something important in your child's life - their favorite sport, an animal they love... You can even get them really involved by letting them paint their own knobs!
12. Self-stick, peelable, wallpaper borders, murals, and designs. They do not damage the walls, yet add a lot of color and character. Has your son out-grown ABC's and cartoon cars? Peel them off, wash the walls, stick on the Batman borders and stickers. They are available at many places that sell wallpaper as well as on-line. They will last for a year at least. Actually, these self-stick borders are nice for adding an easy splash of color to any room. Some of these products are 'cheap-looking' (like shelf paper), but many are indistinguishable from quality wallpaper.
13. Remember to hang art and other decorations low enough for the child to appreciate... and yes, touch. Too many nicely-decorated children's rooms have the pictures, shelves, etc. all at adult height. Who cares if it looks like it came out of a magazine? Whose room is it anyway? Put that ABC poster down at toddler level so she can appreciate it.
How can I teach music to my toddler?
Jackie
I have a three year old girl and I want to get her into learning music and theory as early as possible. I want her to grow to be a top musician, but none of that X-Factor rubbish. I'd prefer it if she did something useful.
Answer
Toddlers learn by doing what they see their parents do. She sees you sweep the floor and she wants to do it to. She sees you with laundry baskets and she wants to help.
Sing to her. Sing with her. Sing about the things that you are doing together. Silly little things about climbing the stairs, about choosing what to wear today. Just off the top of your head, but it will engage her interest and spark a notion that music is a natural expression of our lives. Always sing lullabies at bedtime. I had a record player beside each of my childrens' beds and a supply of records that they loved to play. They are now all grown and all enjoy music recreationally. .
If you are an instrumentalist, play every day. Let her dance to your music. If you have a piano and friends who are musical, invite them for family dinners and some fun music time afterwards. I have noticed when reading biographies of successful musicians, they often mention that they grew up in music filled homes.
I would suggest that you make music a happy experience for her. I would avoid some musical toys with tinny sounds that will ruin her musical ear. When she is a little older and has the concentration, fine motor ability, and sufficient attention span, start her with instrumental lessons, taking care to choose a teacher who has experience and success with very young students.
Music theory is not the place to begin. Babies learn to speak words before they can produce and identify individual letter sounds. Children first learn to read sight words before they master the sound-letter relationships that are used do decode new words. Music theory will come as she learns and enjoys various genres of music. She will come to notice that some songs seem to work with clapping in groups of three while others work with claps in groups of four. She will wonder why - and that leads to you working on some beginning music theory with rhythms, notation, and on and on.
Please realize that unless she is some sort of prodigy, it is too early to see if she has any natural talent to sing, to play an instrument, or to compose. It is quite possible for her to be able to develop a love of music but not possess exceptional performance skills. Never let her think you are disappointed in her if she can't measure up to your very high expectations. Ultimately, you have to let her grow into the woman that she was meant to be - which could be a top musician, or maybe not.
Toddlers learn by doing what they see their parents do. She sees you sweep the floor and she wants to do it to. She sees you with laundry baskets and she wants to help.
Sing to her. Sing with her. Sing about the things that you are doing together. Silly little things about climbing the stairs, about choosing what to wear today. Just off the top of your head, but it will engage her interest and spark a notion that music is a natural expression of our lives. Always sing lullabies at bedtime. I had a record player beside each of my childrens' beds and a supply of records that they loved to play. They are now all grown and all enjoy music recreationally. .
If you are an instrumentalist, play every day. Let her dance to your music. If you have a piano and friends who are musical, invite them for family dinners and some fun music time afterwards. I have noticed when reading biographies of successful musicians, they often mention that they grew up in music filled homes.
I would suggest that you make music a happy experience for her. I would avoid some musical toys with tinny sounds that will ruin her musical ear. When she is a little older and has the concentration, fine motor ability, and sufficient attention span, start her with instrumental lessons, taking care to choose a teacher who has experience and success with very young students.
Music theory is not the place to begin. Babies learn to speak words before they can produce and identify individual letter sounds. Children first learn to read sight words before they master the sound-letter relationships that are used do decode new words. Music theory will come as she learns and enjoys various genres of music. She will come to notice that some songs seem to work with clapping in groups of three while others work with claps in groups of four. She will wonder why - and that leads to you working on some beginning music theory with rhythms, notation, and on and on.
Please realize that unless she is some sort of prodigy, it is too early to see if she has any natural talent to sing, to play an instrument, or to compose. It is quite possible for her to be able to develop a love of music but not possess exceptional performance skills. Never let her think you are disappointed in her if she can't measure up to your very high expectations. Ultimately, you have to let her grow into the woman that she was meant to be - which could be a top musician, or maybe not.
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