Try Cool Art Activities on the Computer During the Hot Summer Months Ahead

To keep your child engaged in fun learning this summer, try some cool art activities on the nearest computer to reinforce basic skills and to develop new ones. Teachers and experts agree that computers, coupled with hands-on individual instruction, can be a valuable learning tool. Computers, as another medium for educational art activities, can help children develop reading, writing and problem-solving skills.

If you don't own a computer, check out your local library or community center, or see if the computer lab at your child's school will be open this summer.

"Kids like the bright colors, sounds and pictures of today's computer programs," said John D. Kemp, president and CEO of VSA arts, an organization that creates educational opportunities through the arts for children and adults with disabilities. "When kids are out of school, parents can keep them learning throughout the summer with educational arts activities on the computer."

VSA arts recommends the following activities designed for young children, including those with disabilities:

Just your type! Using computers to create summer stories:
Have children gather pictures from magazines or books that depict their favorite summertime activities or places. Using a basic word processing program, assist your child in typing words and short sentences that describe the pictures or scenes. Older children can type short stories. Use larger or "giant" size letters and change their size on-screen. Guide your child in typing a set of alphabet letters, then print and cut them out. Arrange and re-arrange the letters to spell out different colors and words about the activities in the pictures. Kids can even send these stories as letters to friends and family.
Draw the line! Making a summertime scrapbook:
If available, use a basic paint or draw program on the computer to create a summertime scrapbook. With your child, read a story about a summer topic such as weather, travel, plants or outdoor activities. Then have your child use the "draw" tool to invent creative shapes, plants or trees, ocean waves or other images of their own summer experiences, or something from the story. These drawings can be basic, using circles, squares, and curved and straight lines, all shapes generally available in the program. Use the paint tool to color in the different shapes. Print these pages and assemble together to create your child's own scrapbook.
Back up! Drawing patterns and summer shapes:
Using the paint tool, have children click on the command box to select different backgrounds on the computer, such as circles, stripes or boxes. Even young children are drawn to patterns and rhythms both visually and orally. Help your child discover how they can change, repeat or alternate shapes to create different patterns. Have them draw simple versions of outdoor summer items or imaginary shapes. Then guide kids in clicking on the shape, then copying and pasting on the screen. Kids can count each type of shape, cut it out and paste into a collage or create and share stories aloud about them. Kids can also develop early math skills by comparing sizes of objects, then count and create a song with repeated shapes representing different sounds like clapping hands or clicking fingers.

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