Family Bonding that Sparks Imagination and Creativity
Fresh ideas from a Maryland Art Therapist
There are so many distractions in today’s world that can prevent a family from spending quality time together. If you are like me, having multiple children, all with different personalities, ages and interests… finding an activity to agree on and motivate togetherness can be challenging. Not to mention, as adults, we have so much on our plates, family bonding may get put on the back burner.
Mental Health Benefits of Family Bonding
Family bonding provides a strong emotional support system, with trust and love being essential components. It offers comfort, empathy, and understanding, which can help individuals cope with stress and difficult situations. Family members feel safe to lean on each other in times of need or crisis. Members are better equipped to handle life's challenges because of this bond and the emotional support and sense of belonging can contribute to overall mental well-being. Knowing that you have a loving and supportive family can help you bounce back from setbacks and adversity.
Spending time together fosters healthier communication skills and better social skills. Family members learn to express themselves, listen, and understand each other's perspectives, leading to healthier relationships. Children learn how to interact with others, share, and cooperate, which can benefit them in various social settings. Family bonding can also help develop conflict resolution skills. Learning to navigate disagreements and misunderstandings within the family can equip individuals with essential interpersonal skills.
Families often pass down values, traditions, and cultural practices through bonding experiences. These shared customs can create a sense of identity and connection. Family bonding allows for the transfer of positive behaviors and values from one generation to the next. Studies suggest that individuals with strong family connections tend to live longer, healthier lives.
10 Fun Family Art Activities for all ages
Family art projects are a wonderful way to bond with your loved ones, express your creativity, and create lasting memories together. Whether you all enjoy art, music or movement, here are a few activities that can ignite family fun:
Collaging with kids (or as adults)
Collaging is a form of art made of various materials with a particular theme or focus. You can cut up magazine images and words, use found objects, photographs, tissue paper, fabric, wood or any mixed media of your choice. Arrange the art materials so it’s aesthetically pleasing to the eye. After you have completed your art piece, name it for a more personalized touch. Collages can be created collectively as a family or each member can create one individually.
Family Values Collage. This is a unique way for the family to come together, share their values, strengths and build understanding. After the Family Values Collage is completed, share with each other the experience of creating together, what you learned about each member and how the family can continue to live out the values daily.
Connect with yourself and your goals through vision boards
Vision Boards are an individualized art project that is a visual representation of an individual's aspirations and goals that are meant to inspire and motivate positivity for their future. This collection of images and words will be unique and meaningful to the artist and promote change that honors the person they are striving to become. Once everyone has created their Vision Boards, share it with the family, communicate its meaning, and engage in dialogue to gain a deeper understanding of the artist and their vision.
Painting together to strengthen relationships
Collaborative Painting is a wonderful activity that leaves you with an unique piece of art that represents your family’s creativity. Set up a large canvas or several smaller ones, and each family member can contribute to a painting. You can even paint on fabric, rocks, wood, your choice! You can choose a theme or let each person paint whatever they like. When you're done, you can frame the art and add a personalized touch to the home decor.
Home Project Painting. Painting goes beyond canvas. In fact, taking on a family home project can be a fun and cost effective way to turn something old into something new. Whether you are painting an accent wall, adding in a pop of color to your front door, or restoring an old dresser, working together to transform it will help to build a family bonding experience that will be a visual reminder of what you can accomplish when you work together. It will get messy, but what’s art without a little mess?!
Using Art and Movement in family time
Nature Art Mandalas. Incorporate movement and art into family time. Take a family walk in a park or nearby trail and collect nature along the way. You can have a theme of what you will collect- something that reminds you of your favorite family moments, nature to represent each family member, it can represent peace or whatever theme you want.
Once you have all your nature and materials (glue, scissors, mixed media, circle form) create a nature mandala. You can use a plate to trace your circle on your canvas. Mandala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle." Mandalas can represent the heart, healing and wholeness and is a great way to focus your attention and get into a meditative flow.
Charades, Pictionary or both. Make use of a fun classic into a family bonding activity. All you need is a dry erase board or paper, a marker and words to generate the fun. Combine acting and art for a fun family friendly competition.
Pass the Creativity! Keep it moving for kids with ADHD or limited patience.
There are several exciting ways to engage in this activity. First, Pass the Picture Drawing Game. Again, a theme for the art is an option. Each person gets a piece of paper and chooses a color. Set a timer for 1 minute. Each person starts on their own drawing, creating art for one minute, then passes their drawing to the right. The next person adds on, then the next until the artist receives their original artwork. Lay all the art out and share the similarities, differences and everything in between.
The second adaptation is Pass the Movement. Stand in a circle and one member begins with a movement that represents them. The other family members repeat the movement. The next person begins with the first family member's movement then adds on to the sequence with their own movement. The family repeats both movements together. Continue the pattern until everyone has had a turn. Finally put it all together with a full sequence. Pass the movement can help to build empathy and understanding as well as foster open communication.
The third adaptation is Pass the Story. This one takes a bit more mental focus than the others and the ability to read and write independently. You can use the same format as pass the movement and create unique and funny stories for each family member to share with the entire family. For little ones who are still learning to read and write, the family can create one unique story with each member adding a sentence or two. Family members can add art to the story book and build a masterpiece.
Music, Art and Movement TOGETHER!
Music adds rhythmic harmony and can facilitate opportunities for emotional expression. Play music in the background while creating any art project to boost your mood and well-being. To explore the emotions behind the music, select 3 different genres of music and create an art response for each one. This can be a collaborative or individual approach. Generate discussion questions by using all five senses and exploring feelings, thoughts and behaviors.
The goal of family bonding through art is to have fun, connect with each other, and enjoy the process of creating art together. Remember it’s not about the product, but the process of creating, the shared experience and the imaginative expression that truly matter.
