Painting classes for babies as young as six months, which allow them to express themselves even though they are unable to walk or talk, are proving such a success they are to be extended across Scotland.
Painting classes for babies as young as six months, which allow them to express themselves even though they are unable to walk or talk, are proving such a success they are to be extended across Scotland.
Graphic Babbling is the award-winning business idea of Finnish-born Anna-Maija Rist who lives with her husband and son Zachary outside Aberdeen. She does not aim to improve artistic talent, but rather to encourage families to discover the joy of creative activities.
It was the arrival of Zachary three years ago which led to the launch of the successful venture. Anna-Maija had planned an academic career and was working on a PhD in early linguistic and identity development in children, but had a change of heart following his birth.
She was aware of the success of colour workshops for babies which had been developed in Finland. When she learned that nothing similar was available here, she returned to her native country to retrain so she could teach the method in Scotland, and started offering art sessions for under-ones.
She subsequently developed a class catering for children from six months to the age of three. There is a gap between 12 and 18 months because experience has shown that the mobility being developed by children at that age creates a distraction which means the paints and colours are less interesting to them.
She is a qualified musician and regularly complements the sessions with songs, sounds and rhymes.
Anna-Maija says her own experience shows how important it is for parents and children to find gentle activities which help break the domestic routine, and claims Graphic Babbling aims to promote happy, relaxed and child-orientated interaction between parents and children through art-based exercises.
"Above all we maintain that shared happy moments are fundamental to early bonding, and that creative family activities enable both adult and child to learn from and about one another.
"In younger babies their sensory development is at a stage when they can start exploring things for themselves they can grasp and touch things and when they come and play with different textures and colours in my workshop they will take away al these experiences."
She said that by encouraging creativity and imagination she promotes children's ability to explore and understand their world. She said: "It is so messy it is not easy to do it in the home"
Every session is themed and lasts 45 minutes using home-prepared paints - which are vegetable, fruit and foodstuff-based - as well as safe commercial finger paints. "I'm gradually developing Graphic Babbling into a nationwide franchise," she said. "In Aberdeen, our short-term goal is a purpose-fitted art studio for pre-schoolers and their carers."
Karen Barclay, whose two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Rachel attends the classes said: "I would definitely recommend it, because it is structured it is so much better than anything you can do yourself at home. There is usually a theme, whether it be the seaside or Christmas.
"They don't just do painting but also things like scratching cinnamon on sandpaper which evokes other responses and gets them thinking - it is more than just splashing paint about. I think it is great because apart from anything else it saves me having the mess in my house."
