Crafting 101

You may not have space for a studio, but setting up an art corner and keeping the art box well stocked will go a long way towards making art accessible and promoting your child's own creativity.

Organizing an Art Corner

In our house we have an art table that has four shelves built into the base, as well as removable bins. This space is great for markers, crayons and pencils, as well as pads and/or loose sheets of paper and various other odds and ends. 

For other art materials, have a cupboard near the art corner as well as medium-sized individual plastic containers with lids that can be organized and labeled. Some of these containers also come with self-contained shelving units, which tuck neatly into the corner of a room.

Stocking Your Art Box

The most important thing to consider when stocking the art box is diversity. Some of the best art materials can be found around your own home.

Here are just a few things to consider for your art box:

The Basics:

• Pens, pencils, pencil crayons, crayons and chalk
• Paper - pads, individual sheets, construction paper, brown craft paper
• Non-toxic paints and finger paints
• Paint brushes of various sizes
• White glue, glitter glue, glue sticks, tape
• Play-dough and other modeling materials
• Stickers
• Colouring books

From Around the House:

• Old magazines, flyers and newsprint
• Wool, yarn, string
• Recycled wrapping paper, ribbon and cards
• Buttons
• Toilet paper and paper towel rolls
• Scrap fabric
• Wallpaper ends or samples
• Aluminum pie plates
• Plastic containers (yoghurt cups, margarine tubs)
• Noodles
• Sponges

The Extras:

• Pipe cleaners
• Pom-poms
• Beads
• Feathers
• Googly eyes
• Popsicle sticks
• Felt
• Fabric paint

For more ideas, please see:

The Kids Can Press Jumbo Book of Crafts by Judy Ann Sadler

By Rochelle Strauss