Tips & Tools for a Budding Young Artist

When my son was little, he never played. Not with one single toy. He only wanted to make and do and create. Of course, at his age, all of that making and doing and creating looked more like a mess than a masterpiece. Once, when he was almost three, he found a black Sharpie marker that I had accidentally left on my dresser and proceeded to draw pictures on my bedroom wall, the curtains, the carpet, my brand-new bedspread, and himself, in less than five minutes. Around that same time, he became obsessed with drawing pictures in spills. He would intentionally go to the fridge, find a bottle of this or a box of that, spill it on the floor, and use his finger to make shapes in it.

Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2023-2024

In just a few weeks, I'll be starting my final year with my final four. By the end of the 2023-2024 school year, my eldest son will be launching out into the world, my daughter will still be away at college, and I'll only have my three youngest at home.

Not surprisingly, I'm acutely aware that my days with a houseful of children are numbered. Here is a peek at what the boys will be learning together this year.

Homeschool Art the Charlotte Mason Way

In her Philosophy of Education, British education reformer Charlotte Mason wrote, “Every child should leave school with at least a couple hundred pictures by great masters hanging permanently in the halls of his imagination.” (vol. 6, p.43) Miss Mason set aside time not only for her students to express themselves artistically but also for them to study the lives, styles, and works of the great masters.

Homeschool Curriculum Choices 2022-2023

As my kids each tiptoe towards the teen years, we spend less and less time learning as a group in order that they can each have more time exploring their own passions in the school day and beyond.

I have to keep reminding myself that this is as it should be. Deep, layered work requires that each individual be given time to pursue their own interests. When they were younger, we were sampling and surveying topics together. Now in their teens, my oldest three kids need even more space and time to chase a few specific things that they are most interested in. And the younger two aren't too far behind.

6 Simple Summertime Art Projects for Kids

Written by Jessica.

This spring we added two puppies (yes, TWO!) to our family within a few weeks of each other, closely followed by two kittens (yes, TWO!). Needless to say, for several months, our homeschool routine was utterly, completely, seriously derailed! In fact, the last few weeks of our school year were spent trying to catch up on everything that fell to the wayside and was never finished.

Art was one of those things.

Because summer vacation was just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to have the kids make some seasonal art and arts & crafts type projects that could be displayed around the house during the summer months.

Kente "Cloth": African Print Project

In the heart of Ghana, West Africa you'll find Kente draping the shoulders of the Akan people. Kente means "basket" and is a fashion featuring silk and cotton fabrics which are woven together in bright, geometric patterns. Kente was once a sign of royalty but is now worn to show ethnic pride during celebrations such as weddings and funerals. 

The colors of the Kente fabrics hold deep meaning to the people and signify everything from politics to fertility, from religion to science.

Pine Bough Wreath Print Tutorial

Written by Jessica.

This fun-to-make art project incorporates two items from nature that signify winter in all its loveliness: pine boughs and pinecones. The stamped wreath can be made in traditional reds and greens to display at home or to be gifted to a loved one, just in time for Christmas. Already had your fill of Christmas art projects? No problem! It can also be made with winter colors, all ready to brighten the walls during the cold and bare months ahead.

20 Winter Art Projects for Kids

Last weekend, in an unprecedented heat wave of 31 degrees, we ventured out into the woods. It was a great day for a nature walk.  We stayed all afternoon enjoying the quiet...the kind of quiet that comes only in the dead of winter...the kind of quiet that is only interrupted by the rustling of the snow under your boots.

(This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for full details.)

We are currently reading about ALWAYS WINTER in this book and enjoyed the chance to experience it ourselves.

As the sun began to set, we headed home, but not before we tucked away visions of birch trees. And cardinals. And new fallen snow...All of which make for great inspiration for winter art.

15+ Christmas Art Projects for Kids

There's no shortage of coffee filter angel ornaments and painted handprint wreaths around here at Christmas time. Over the years, we've definitely done our share of holiday kid's crafts. But, when it comes to Christmas Schooling...incorporating real learning to the peace of Advent...I prefer to focus on art. I prefer to let my children enjoy the unrushed process instead of forcing an end product. 

I put on our favorite Christmas music, spread the table with chalk pastels and paint, and stand back as my children create memories and masterpieces. Granted a crayon wax resist of the Virgin Mary does not hang as pretty on a tree as a salt dough star, but it sure looks nice on the mantel. 

Here are a few FREE art tutorials from around the web to help furnish your home...and perhaps your heart.

Fall Blown Trees Art Tutorial

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." ~L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

This past October, we found ourselves surrounded by the flaming colors of fall. We took a day hike through the woods and got to see God's creativity among the greens, and reds, and yellows, and oranges. We came home and used those vibrant colors as inspiration for a fall art project. 

Resources for the Art Challenged Homeschool Mom

The other day, I had "art time" penciled into the schedule, but due to some last-minute, unforeseen changes to the day, we had to skip it. There was much "weeping and gnashing of teeth" around here. And the kids were pretty upset also.

The truth is, I love art time.

I love the silence that comes when everyone is hunched over a project. 

I love the individual expression that creativity evokes.

I love the splashes of color that grace my dining room table every Thursday afternoon.

I love the mess. (Well, I could probably do without that part.)

Kandinsky Abstract Art Unit {with living literature}

"An empty canvas is a living wonder... far lovelier than certain pictures." ~Wassily Kandinsky 

This little abstract art lesson came about by a little abstract homeschooling...the organic, unplanned kind...the kind that takes you down a rabbit trail and leads you to an unplanned adventure.

The other day, I had big orange-and-yellow themed plans for art. It's fall, after all. But while at the library, we just happened to come upon an eye-catching book that made my art plans take an abrupt detour.

We read the book together and wanted more.

Preschool Art Class: Milk Painting

Preschool art projects should always be three things: 

process-oriented

The process of actually DOING the art should be the motive, not the end project. Preschoolers should be encouraged to use many different art mediums in many different ways.

open-ended

A child should be able to use his/her own creative expression to create a unique work of art. The opposite of this would be an art project that has specific step-by-step directions leading to a specific, one-size-fits-all end result.

large motor-skill driven 

Expecting a preschooler to glue tiny pieces and parts onto something or to use small motor skills to create an intricate design will only cultivate frustration and feelings of failure...in you and them. The larger the canvas, tools, and space to create, the better. 

Here is a simple afternoon art project that definitely meets those goals and one that can easily be squeezed into the harried homeschool day.

Rainy Day Wax Resist Art Tutorial

Not a lot of time for art today? That's OK. This simple project can be completed in moments and makes for a perfect painting activity for multi-age art time! 

Dandelion Art Tutorial

Currently, one patch of my yard is riddled with the fluffy white bulbs of dandelions...just tempting my kids to come and BLOW! And while they may not make for the best landscaping plan, dandelions can be nice inspiration for an afternoon of easy art.

"Stained Glass" Art Tutorial

Looking to add a little color to your winter white? Look no further than this "stained glass" paper craft. You can hang these in your window and watch the light cast a wonderful colored glow throughout the room.

15 Minute Art Project: Hand-Painted Tissue Paper {for gift bags}

Art at our home is a MUST.  No matter how harried our homeschool days seem to be, once a week, I intentionally carve out a time and a space to create!  

While, many of our art lessons are the slow-and-steady, enjoy-the-journey kind, sometimes they have to be the create-a-masterpiece-in-three-easy-steps kind.  Because, let's face it, some weeks are more harried than others and art time has to be squeezed into the speed of a blink.  

This, 15 minute hand-painted tissue paper project, was not only fast, it was USEABLE.  We were able to stash our creations away to be used in a one-of-a-kind gift bag for a friend's birthday.  

Scratch Art: Art Project for ANY Age

CONFESSION TIME, FOLKS!  I like art time.  Ok, ok, I looooove art time.  I love all the mess.  I love the creativity.  I love getting my hands covered in color.

But...

I'm not a huge fan of trying to come up with art projects that will appeal to my older kids but that will still be DOABLE for my little ones.  Because let's face it, my four-year-old REALLY wants his project to look just as good as his big brothers'...but it usually does not, and so disappointment ensues.  

Art Tutorial: Magazine Scrap Sketches

Wanna squeeze in some art into an otherwise jam-packed week?  Here's an easy-peasy project that can be woven into your schedule in seconds.  These simple magazine scrap sketches blend imagination with more complex art concepts such as, perspective, line, movement, and landscape.  

Because there is no right or wrong way to create a sketch, these trash-to-treasure drawings can be adapted for any age or skill level making them perfect for the HOMESCHOOL art class with its multi-level learning.  

Aerial Snowman Chalk Art Tutorial

Since the current plummeting temperature in our neck of the woods has prohibited any outdoor artistry for fear of possible frostbite, we've kept our snowman-making "itch" indoors and created a cute snowman SANS the snow. I, originally, saw a picture of one on Pinterest, but there were no directions included, only a picture. So, we just had to make it up as we went along. But, you don't have to!

This two-day project was a simple lesson in perspective as we tried to capture what a snowman might look like if we were looking down at him.