Get Some Fun Art Inspiration with 500 Kids Art Ideas

I picked up the book 500 Kids Art Ideas by Gavin Andrews rather at random on a visit to the craft store last summer. I was sure we would need more ideas for getting through the break, and because my daughter and I both love art, I thought this would be fun to look at.

And it is, but it is quite literally an idea book, not an instruction book. It’s a book of photographs of different projects and techniques, such as painting with cotton balls, drawing your house, painting an Expressionist-style portrait or simply playing around with paint (to give a few examples from a random page I opened to). There’s a brief preview of the book at the publisher’s website, linked above.

The ideas cover a wide range of materials and types of projects, including:

felt, fibers and more
made with nature
making art togetehr
mixed media and collage
paint projects
paper and book art
printmaking and stamping
recycled and upcycled
sculpture and 3-D art
sketches and drawings
art and technology

There are also a couple of pages on how to set up a creative space at home.

Flipping through the pages is sure to be inspiring for you and your kids, and it’s kind of nice to know that even if you’re inspired by a project you see here, your project (or your child’s) will be unique because you aren’t following instructions, just using the finished projects here as a jumping off point.

About the book: 176 pages, paperback, full color. Published June 2015 by Quarry Books, retail price $24.99.

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Summer Reading Printables and Tips for Parents

The celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is important throughout Mexico and other parts of the world. Her feast day is Dec. 12, and the celebrations honoring her appearance to Juan Diego in 1531 begin a few days before that.

Whether you celebrate yourself or just want to share about the celebration at home or in your classroom, Las Mañanitas: The Beautiful Celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a good place to start. The book, by Ernesto Joel Vega Rosales and Jeanette Gonzalez Seneviratne, with illustrations by Dana Sanmar, tells the story of a family’s celebration of the feast day in both English and Spanish.

They prepare with a novena, which is nine days of prayers and preparations. The children, Lucia and Pablo, are given special outfits made by their grandmother that look like what Juan Diego might have worn when he saw Our Lady. The book describes the prayers that are made each day, such as a prayer for respect for life, for families and for the indigenous people of the Americas, to name a few.

As told in the book, Juan Diego was a native Mexican born near modern day Mexico City. His given name was Cuaauhtlatoatzin, which means “He who speaks like an eagle.” When he converted to Christianity his name was changed to Juan Diego, and as he walked to church he passed a hill called Tepeyac. One day he heard the birds singing especially beautifully and a voice called him to go to the top of the hill.

There he saw Our Lady of Guadalupe, who asked him to tell the bishop she wanted a chapel built in her name at the foot of the hill. The bishop asked for a sign that Juan Diego really saw her, and later she had him collect flowers that she blessed and take them to the bishop. When Juan Diego dropped the flowers, an image of Our Lady could be seen on his cloak, which is still on display in her basilica to this day.

The feast day is celebrated as mañanitas, which includes singing, indigenous music and dancing, and children presenting flowers to Our Lady. Juan Diego is remembered today as being humble, brave and faithful, and was the first indigenous American made a saint.

The book is colorful and tells the story in a clear way, and it’s fun to have it both in English and Spanish if you teach Spanish or speak Spanish at home or in the classroom. It’s a great way to learn the basics of the celebration and the story of Juan Diego and why he is still remembered today.

About the book: 40 pages, paperback, published 2024 by Loyola Press. Suggested retail price $14.99.

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