Allowing your child to explore through art helps them develop more than just creativity. Whether they are drawing, finger painting, coloring, or crafting, kids are developing social skills, motor skills, problem solving, mental processes, and emotional expression. In fact, researchers have been studying the role that creativity plays in overall intelligence and analytical skills! Makes you want to run out to Target to get some new crafting inspiration, doesn't it?
I came across Kid Made Modern's Giant Crazy Crayon in a boutique toy shop this summer and was immediately inspired to check out what other art products they offered. I wasn't disappointed! In fact, they sent us some of their amazingly inspiring and inclusive products to share with you all. What I love about this company is that, just like the handwritten note that accompanied our samples said, they believe that "art is for everyone!" We share that belief and are excited to show you how some of our fave Kid Made Modern products can work for kids of all abilities!
Rock Crayons: Small hands need small crayons. These rock crayons look like the flat skipping stones we used to throw across the lake as kids! They lack the overpowering wax-based crayon smell, so they're perfect for your sensory sensitive child who is still working on refining his/her fine motor skills too. The bright, fun colors allow your child to do all that they would with the typical Crayolas but they encourage a mature tripod grasp in a new way. Explore wide strokes using the flat side, or turn them to explore a whole new grasp. I love how they blend and change as you color and draw because of the natural visual details that draw kids' attention!
Gem Jackpot: For the little learners who are ready for exploring lines, shading, and shapes, this assortment of Gem-shaped crayons builds on the Rock Crayon concept but challenges kids to move their fingers in different ways to get a different kind of line. I love that each gem is a little different, which adds a fine motor challenge for developing grasp patterns.
For users who need to use adaptive grasps like whole hand, pronated, or fisted grasps because of motor disabilities, both the rock and gem crayons are large enough to allow for extra fingers or whole hands to stabilize them.
Confetti Crayons: One of the fine motor skills your child will use often in the course of his/her academic career is called "complex rotation" - think of it as the flip you do to turn your pencil from writing to erasing...and back to writing! It's a skill we take for granted when we're in the middle of a lengthy writing assignment but how do you teach those skills to a child? These Confetti Crayons are two-tipped crayons that encourage children to "flip" between ends by rotating the crayon back and forth. They're about the size of a small marker, so definitely a good choice for elementary aged kids who have already established a mature crayon grasp. Each crayon is wrapped in a color-shaded paper that matches the overall color of the crayon itself. These color blocks offer a great visual for finger placement, finger walks, and positioning prompts to get that just-right grasp!
Crayon Gem: This may be one of my favorite crayon designs by Kid Made Modern because it allows kids with significantly adaptive grasps to participate in coloring. If your child has physical disabilities and needs to use a gross grasp, this crayon gem is large enough that they can hold on with a total hand grasp. Because there are stacked colors, it is possible to get "feedback" for every purposeful coloring stroke in a bright, colorful way so your child can be successful.
"Go Make Stuff" is Kid Made Modern's slogan...so we did! Get creative and let us know how your kids are inspired and included in art exploration.