purposeful play

simple art for kids

purposeful play

Art for Kids- Why is it so Important?

Art is such a vital part of childhood. Through art, children are able to express their thoughts and feelings in a visual form. When you encourage art in children and give them a wide variety of materials to work with-you’re able to unleash their creativity in endless ways.

Not only does art encourage creativity, but when a child is working on a project it gives them the opportunity to think, plan and organize.

Through art children are able to experiment, test out theories and explore cause and effect. Art is also a wonderfully fun way for children to refine their fine motor skills which is an essential pre-writing skill.

Activities like using scissors, drawing, tearing paper and painting with different sized paint brushes all strengthen those little muscles in your child’s hand. Below you will find inspiration and ideas on ways to incorporate art into the daily life of your child in a purposeful way.

purposeful play

What are the benefits of art for kids?

purposeful play

art activities for kids

purposeful play

art supplies

Fill your art area with a variety of purposeful art supplies

construction paper
paper scraps
printer paper
card stock paper
paper bags
tissue paper
newspaper
scissors
cards
butcher paper
coffee filters
paper plates
chalk
scotch tape
colored tape
pom-poms
gems
glitter
craft sticks
stickers
paper shapes
beads
sticky notes

water color paints
finger-paints
tempera paints
paint brushes
art easel
smock
dot paints
markers
crayons
colored pencils
colored pens
glitter pens
glitter glue
glue sticks
liquid glue
feathers
pipe cleaners
ribbons
rubber bands
paper clips
stamps
ink pads
buttons

tips for

organizing art supplies

Below you will find ideas and photo inspiration to help inspire you to create an organized, inspiring and purposeful art area. A purposeful art area will spark your child’s imagination and invite them to explore and create.

Keep all the art supplies well organized and easily accessible. This will encourage children to engage in art projects independently. Organized art supplies also allows for your child to be able to plan and think clearly about the creation they want to make thus creating a purposeful learning environment.

easy access

Keep art supplies easily accessible, inviting and set up in a way for children to be able to use independently.

containers

Use baskets, bins, caddies, mason jars, plastic containers, trays, egg cartons or storage containers to keep art supplies well organized.

art shelf

Keep containers of art supplies arranged neatly on a shelf or art caddy. This allows children to independently go to the art area and complete a project when inspiration hits them.

label

Label each container so children know exactly where everything is. This will prevent children from becoming overwhelmed, overstimulated and prevent disorganized thinking. It also makes clean up a breeze!

messy hands, happy hearts

examples of organized art areas

Photo inspiration of ways to create an organized,easily accessible art area. Also check out my pinterest board titled Organized Art Supplies

artist gallery

kids art display ideas

proudly display your child's art work with these great ideas

clothes pin line

Pin a line of twine to the wall and hang your child's art work up with clothes pins!

clothes pin line

create an art gallery

Turn your child's art work into an fun art gallery for a wall in your home.

create an art gallery

photo album

Take pictures of your child's art work, print the photos and place in a photo album.

photo album

make a book

Pick your favorite pieces of art work, use a hole puncher and bind together with rings.

make a book

simple yet effective ways to

extend your child's learning

There are many ways you can extend children's learning through play. Two simple yet effective ways to extend learning include asking your child questions and making verbal observations.

extend learning

questions and observations

questions to ask

By asking children questions about their art creations, you show them that what they’ve accomplished is interesting and worthwhile! Asking children questions validates their industriousness and creativity.

It also gives them a chance to verbalize and speak in detail about their thought process. This in turn improves their verbal and cognitive skills.

Here are some examples of questions to ask.

“How did you come up with this idea?

“How did you attach these gems?”

“What happens if you mix these two colors together?”

“How could you use the craft sticks in your next project?”

“How did you create these colorful trees?”

“Can you tell me about your drawing?”

obseravations to make

When you make and verbalize observations to children, you model new and more complex language skills. This is especially valuable with a child experiencing language delays. When you make verbal observations you are simply saying out loud exactly what the child is doing.

EXAMPLE: “You picked the red crayon to use. You’re drawing long lines in the middle of the paper. Now you’re making dots, little tiny circles, on the top of the paper.”

Observations should be very specific and as detailed as possible. Observations are a great way to introduce new vocabulary words and more complex sentence structures.

Though making observations is incredibly valuable, keep in mind that you don’t always have to comment while your child is engaged in play. Periodically take the time to step back and just watch. See how your child interacts with others. Take note on what sparks their interest.

Notice what causes them frustration and how they coop. If your child is old enough and it is safe to do so-leave the room for a bit. Give your child space to explore, create and problem solve independently.

Below are some examples of observations you can make about your child’s art projects.

“I noticed you used….”

“You added cotton balls next to the flower.”

“I like the way you painted red circles on top of the blue lines.”

“I see you drew triangles in the middle of your paper.”

purposeful play

Would you like more ideas and inspiration?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get our Free Printable Step by Guide to an Organized Playroom!

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Let's connect

purposeful play

simple art for kids

purposeful play

Art for Kids- Why is it so Important?

Art is such a vital part of childhood. Through art, children are able to express their thoughts and feelings in a visual form. When you encourage art in children and give them a wide variety of materials to work with-you’re able to unleash their creativity in endless ways.

Not only does art encourage creativity, but when a child is working on a project it gives them the opportunity to think, plan and organize.

Through art children are able to experiment, test out theories and explore cause and effect. Art is also a wonderfully fun way for children to refine their fine motor skills which is an essential pre-writing skill.

Activities like using scissors, drawing, tearing paper and painting with different sized paint brushes all strengthen those little muscles in your child’s hand. Below you will find inspiration and ideas on ways to incorporate art into the daily life of your child in a purposeful way.

purposeful play

What are the benefits of art for kids?

purposeful play

art activities for kids

purposeful play

art supplies

Fill your art area with a variety of purposeful art supplies

tips for

organizing art supplies

Below you will find ideas and photo inspiration to help inspire you to create an organized, inspiring and purposeful art area. A purposeful art area will spark your child’s imagination and invite them to explore and create.

easy access

Keep art supplies easily accessible, inviting and set up in a way for children to be able to use independently.

containers

Use baskets, bins, caddies, mason jars, plastic containers, trays, egg cartons or storage containers to keep art supplies well organized.

art shelf

Keep containers of art supplies arranged neatly on a shelf or art caddy. This allows children to independently go to the art area and complete a project when inspiration hits them.

label

Label each container so children know exactly where everything is. This will prevent children from becoming overwhelmed, overstimulated and prevent disorganized thinking. It also makes clean up a breeze!

messy hands, happy hearts

examples of organized art areas

Photo inspiration of ways to create an organized,easily accessible art area. Also check out my pinterest board titled Organized Art Supplies

artist gallery

kids art display ideas

proudly display your child's art work with these great ideas

clothes pin line

clothes pin line

create an art gallery

create an art gallery

photo album

photo album

make a book

make a book

simple yet effective ways to

extend your child's learning

There are many ways you can extend children's learning through play. Two simple yet effective ways to extend learning include asking your child questions and making verbal observations.

extend learning

questions and observations

questions to ask

By asking children questions about their art creations, you show them that what they’ve accomplished is interesting and worthwhile! Asking children questions validates their industriousness and creativity.

It also gives them a chance to verbalize and speak in detail about their thought process. This in turn improves their verbal and cognitive skills.

Here are some examples of questions to ask.

“How did you come up with this idea?

“How did you attach these gems?”

“What happens if you mix these two colors together?”

“How could you use the craft sticks in your next project?”

“How did you create these colorful trees?”

“Can you tell me about your drawing?”

obseravations to make

When you make and verbalize observations to children, you model new and more complex language skills. This is especially valuable with a child experiencing language delays. When you make verbal observations you are simply saying out loud exactly what the child is doing.

EXAMPLE: “You picked the red crayon to use. You’re drawing long lines in the middle of the paper. Now you’re making dots, little tiny circles, on the top of the paper.”

Observations should be very specific and as detailed as possible. Observations are a great way to introduce new vocabulary words and more complex sentence structures.

Though making observations is incredibly valuable, keep in mind that you don’t always have to comment while your child is engaged in play. Periodically take the time to step back and just watch. See how your child interacts with others. Take note on what sparks their interest.

Notice what causes them frustration and how they coop. If your child is old enough and it is safe to do so-leave the room for a bit. Give your child space to explore, create and problem solve independently.

Below are some examples of observations you can make about your child’s art projects.

“I noticed you used….”

“You added cotton balls next to the flower.”

“I like the way you painted red circles on top of the blue lines.”

“I see you drew triangles in the middle of your paper.”

purposeful play

Would you like more ideas and inspiration?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get our Free Printable Step by Guide to an Organized Playroom!

Follow me on social media

Let's connect

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