When our child brings artwork home from The Village, I wish I was “artsy enough” to do projects with them. What can we try at home with limited resources?

Making art at home is not about the art; it’s about spending fun time with your child to encourage their creativity.  Making a sculpture in a sandbox or drawing a picture with fingers in mashed potatoes qualify as art for children. Sidewalk chalk or painting a cardboard box are great options too.

Your art abilities don’t matter to your child.  In fact, it’s important to let your child create their art with their imagination and talent with minimal involvement of your hands.  You should be there for dialog, support, and encouragement but the project should be theirs.

Save your empty paper towel and toilet paper rolls, paper bags, and/or scraps of fabric or paper.  Gather up some colored pencils, crayons, buttons, stencils, school glue, and scissors (safety scissors for your child and regular for you to use) and sit at a table or on the floor.  Use your imagination to identify and collect materials and let your child take over.

The goal is to have fun together.

For more thoughts on this topic, here is a resource from the National Association for the Education of Young Children: https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/meaningful-art-projects-parents-can-fit-busy-day

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