I’ll admit I don’t do arts and crafts at home with my kids as much as I really should. But I do keep a good stash of supplies around and I recommend every parent (especially those that stay home) do the same.
Here’s what I recommend having in your stash for art at home with young children:
- Construction paper
- Roll of white paper
- Paper plates
- Paintbrushes of varying sizes
- Tempura paint (I keep red, blue, yellow and white and can then mix any color I need)
- Watercolor paints
- Markers
- Crayons
- Colored Pencils
- Chalk
- Glue (both liquid and sticks)
- Yarn
- Pipe cleaners
- Collage supplies (sequins, small bits of tissue paper, pom poms, buttons, feather, fake flowers, other miscellaneous small items)
It may seem like a lot, but most of these items you can pick up at the dollar store for (you guessed it!) $1. Target’s dollar spot also often has crafting supplies or if you watch back to school sales, you can often get things for much less than that. I also buy in “bulk” at my local craft store. Things like paint brushes, pipe cleaners and collage supplies you can often get in bigger packs for cheaper than smaller ones ( for example, 12 paintbrushes for $3 versus 2 for $1).
And what exactly can you do with all these supplies? ANYTHING! The possibilities are endless, mix and match! Some of our favorite quick and easy projects are:
- Use the chalk on construction paper (dip the chalk in water for a different experience)
- Mix the tempura with a bit of water for a great finger paint to use on the white paper roll
- Let your child make a college/picture with whatever supplies they’d like
- Have your child color with crayons then paint over it with watercolors
- Work on color mixing with the tempura paint and see what colors your child can make
- Use the markers on coated paper plates for a slick experience
- Make pipe cleaner shapes
This post is part of my Arts in April series, this month’s Monthly Milestone.
