Art Activities to Do on your own
I often have questions from parents asking about how they can support their children's interest in Art. Here are some suggestions:
Create a workspace in your home dedicated to creating Art. This should include a table or desk that has an appealing supply of drawing supplies and paper. Check the list of Art supplies below for more ideas. Also, be sure the workspace is well lit.
Find a space in your home to set up a painting easel and keep it filled with paint and paper. I know this can be messy but, if you can stand it, the growth in your child's painting skills is well worth the mess. True confession: When I was a stay-at-home mom with my first child I had an easel set up in the kitchen all the time. Paint got everywhere but I had time to keep up with the mess. When my son was in preschool he LOVED to paint and got to be quite adept at it. Now he studies Music - go figure! However, I went back to work when my second child was quite young and I just could never get it all together to have a painting easel set up for her! So she never got to paint at home. Poor girl! She turned out alright just the same, and is now quite a good illustrator.
Set up an Art Gallery in your home to display your childs work, as well as your own drawings, some poetry perhaps, and post cards of master works you bought together at Art museum gift shops. This space can be your refridgerator, but consider if you might have a large wall that you can hang a large bulletin board on.
Paint a wall with magnetic paint and then another coat of blackboard paint so that Artists of all ages can allow their creativity to flow with large chalk drawings. Plus you can stick things up with magnets! I know that this is not a decorating technique for the faint of heart but if you can stand the idea of a big black wall and being able to draw on walls (oh my!) this can be a whole lot of fun! The magnetic paint and blackboard paint can be purchased at any paint store. True confession: I have never had a home where this could be done but I have been to homes and even a dance studio with this type of wall and it is so cool!
Or, have some large whiteboards available for Artists of all ages to draw on. These are often magnetized too. I had one of these in my kitchen when my children were young and we all used it all the time, in many ways.
Visit an Art museum with your whole family. Click here to go to the web page about visiting an Art museum with your children. We have many in the Boston area.
Art Supplies to have on hand at home:
Assorted paper for drawing, collage, and building; including white drawing paper, construction paper, colored and patterned papaer like wrapping papaer and wall paper, paper bags can be opened up to paint or draw on, cardboard can be used to draw, paint, or build with, and sticky notes.
Paints; temera and watercolor
Paint brushes in assorted sizes
Sponges for printing and building with; allow your children to cut (you may need to assist with this) their own shapes from a sponge for printing instead of relying simply on pre-cut shapes.
Drawing supplies; markers, pencils, colored pencils, and craypas, etcetera
Tools; scissors, hole punches, staplers
Create a workspace in your home dedicated to creating Art. This should include a table or desk that has an appealing supply of drawing supplies and paper. Check the list of Art supplies below for more ideas. Also, be sure the workspace is well lit.
Find a space in your home to set up a painting easel and keep it filled with paint and paper. I know this can be messy but, if you can stand it, the growth in your child's painting skills is well worth the mess. True confession: When I was a stay-at-home mom with my first child I had an easel set up in the kitchen all the time. Paint got everywhere but I had time to keep up with the mess. When my son was in preschool he LOVED to paint and got to be quite adept at it. Now he studies Music - go figure! However, I went back to work when my second child was quite young and I just could never get it all together to have a painting easel set up for her! So she never got to paint at home. Poor girl! She turned out alright just the same, and is now quite a good illustrator.
Set up an Art Gallery in your home to display your childs work, as well as your own drawings, some poetry perhaps, and post cards of master works you bought together at Art museum gift shops. This space can be your refridgerator, but consider if you might have a large wall that you can hang a large bulletin board on.
Paint a wall with magnetic paint and then another coat of blackboard paint so that Artists of all ages can allow their creativity to flow with large chalk drawings. Plus you can stick things up with magnets! I know that this is not a decorating technique for the faint of heart but if you can stand the idea of a big black wall and being able to draw on walls (oh my!) this can be a whole lot of fun! The magnetic paint and blackboard paint can be purchased at any paint store. True confession: I have never had a home where this could be done but I have been to homes and even a dance studio with this type of wall and it is so cool!
Or, have some large whiteboards available for Artists of all ages to draw on. These are often magnetized too. I had one of these in my kitchen when my children were young and we all used it all the time, in many ways.
Visit an Art museum with your whole family. Click here to go to the web page about visiting an Art museum with your children. We have many in the Boston area.
Art Supplies to have on hand at home:
Assorted paper for drawing, collage, and building; including white drawing paper, construction paper, colored and patterned papaer like wrapping papaer and wall paper, paper bags can be opened up to paint or draw on, cardboard can be used to draw, paint, or build with, and sticky notes.
Paints; temera and watercolor
Paint brushes in assorted sizes
Sponges for printing and building with; allow your children to cut (you may need to assist with this) their own shapes from a sponge for printing instead of relying simply on pre-cut shapes.
Drawing supplies; markers, pencils, colored pencils, and craypas, etcetera
Tools; scissors, hole punches, staplers