Must Haves for Arty Parents

A new bouncing baby might not be ready to hit the finger paints, but she sure can appreciate some smartly placed art to encourage her budding brain development. Babies might not show it, but they appreciate looking at interesting things just like the rest of us. As a new parent, you can encourage your babe's art appreciation through picking up some cool and funky must haves for baby's art development.

Start with selecting an awesome kinetic mobile to place above baby's crib. Kinetic mobiles use balance and movement to create visually soothing mobiles that will delight your new baby. Alexander Calder (the master of kinetic moving sculptures) inspired mobiles can be found at the Hanging Mobile Gallery. She will be excited by the mobiles' movements, and also the lines, shapes and colors of the mobile. Babies aren't able to distinguish many colors at birth, so pick a black, white or brightly colored mobile to adorn her room. Don't be distracted by those musical plastic jobbies, go for the simple wire suspension mobiles for a true artistic impression on your new babe.

Even though baby can't read, you sure can! Along with getting some cozy one-on-one reading time with mom or dad, she will enjoy looking at the vibrant colors found in board books that use famous artwork as illustrations. Chronicle Books have an entire line of children's books based on famous artists for children of all ages. Not only will you begin educating your budding Matisse about Matisse, you might learn something new yourself! A featured author, Susan Goldman Rubin, writes colorful and easy to read books, such as Andy Warhol's Colors. What a great way to look at fun art with your baby and teach her all about colors!

Flash cards might not be at the top of your baby registry, but Wee Gallery's bold black and white flash cards not only educate but also encourage your baby's eye and brain development. These funky cards are reasonably priced and are an enjoyable way to introduce your baby to shapes and animals. The cards captivate and motivate your child with their awesome basic and bold designs. And, hey, they're just really cool.

Introduce your arty baby to the alphabet before they even realize the coolness they are looking at. Letter wall decals from Blik are beautiful and can be easily stuck to your wall, removed and re-stuck. The decals are reasonably priced and range from letters to animals to colorful flowers. Not only will your child fall off to dreamland gazing at adorably artful shapes and designs, they just might learn something, too.

Remember to display artwork within your child's room, offer them tons of opportunities to be creative through offering them paints, crayons and markers - once the fear they might eat them has passed, and take your babe to local art museums. Even though they can't tell you how much they appreciate art, they are learning through you how special art truly is.

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http://www.chroniclebooks.com/index/store,kids/
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