With smaller kids, there’s a fine line between art activities and crafts, since the results can be quite unpredictable, and the process is more important than the outcome.
Having said that, we’ve ended up with lots of awesome works of art from these activities that were worth saving! Others are simply all about the process, like our bathtub painting series.
These Art Activities for Kids focus on ideas for “simple” painting and drawing with and on all kinds of materials.
I’m always on the lookout for new ideas, and inspiration can strike in the most unlikely places.
Click on the images to read about the art activities we’ve done, or read some general tips below the fold.
Some things to keep in mind when it comes to kids’ art:
- As with other activities, keep an open mind for what your child comes up with with his art materials. There’s no right or wrong way.
- Be ready for your child to ask you to start painting yourself. {There are times where E loves it when we work on a painting together.}
- Other times, they might have very specific ideas, and can get upset if you try to join in the fun. If you like, just get your own piece of paper and do your own artwork.
- There may even be times when you can do something else with your child painting or drawing happily beside you, just enjoying each other’s company.
- Make sure to do the clean up with your child as part of the activity whenever you can! It teaches that it’s okay and normal to get messy but that we clean up after ourselves.
Many times, it’s almost an activity in itself. I’ve included pictures of the clean up for some of the activities to let you see for yourself.
If you like the activities above, click here to subscribe to my newsletter and receive an email once a week when new posts are published, or to my RSS feed.
Also make sure to follow me on Pinterest to stay up to date with all we do, and for lots of great ideas from others!
If you prefer Facebook, I’d love to connect with you there: Like and drop me a line on my Facebook page, where I share my own posts and those of others every day!