Children learn best when their hands are busy. No one knows that better than our hometown, Baltimore, where kids can go from cheering at a Ravens or Orioles game to exploring the Maryland Science Center or the National Aquarium in the same weekend. That is why slime, a simple sensory material, has become a powerful therapeutic tool when it comes to clinical settings and at home.

When incorporating art into therapy, the emphasis is on the artmaking process. It’s not about how well you can draw or how talented you are. Instead, we focus on the thoughts and emotions that surface during the activity. For a better understanding of how this works, let’s look at a common art activity, also known as an art directive.