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.

A few years ago I shared some pumpkin themed sensory activities for kids, but I wanted to get a little more general and do some fall sensory ideas that can take you from Halloween al the way to Thanksgiving.

Playdough is a classic sensory activity, especially if kids can help make it, too. These playdough recipes from The Montessori Twin Mama are fall colored and scented with cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice (I honestly don’t know what the difference is!). Or try this fun maple playdough from Happy Toddler Playtime.

Throw together some cookie cutters, googly eyes and other fun things to make an easy fall playdough tray (similar to what I did on this Halloween playdough activity).

How about some fall themed slime? Natural Beach Living gave a basic slime recipe a fall twist with food coloring and glitter. Leaf shaped sequins make it even more fun. Little Bins for Little Hands also has a cinnamon slime, which is great for fall but can also carry you all the way through Christmas.

Raising Wild Things Sensory has some great easy to make fall themed sensory bottles, which you can add fall things to, or pompoms or whatever kind of I spy items you might want to include. They also have a fun apple moon sand sensory bin that has me wondering if you could add something scented to moon sand (I always hated the smell!).

And of course there are all kinds of sensory bins you can make for fall. I like this apple picking one from Happy Toddler Playtime that uses fake leaves and little apple toys. It has the added challenge of trying to pick the apples up through a mesh of branches — kind of like a low-tech game of Operation!

You can also do a short-lived sensory bin with real leaves, or use any kind of beans, brown rice, oats or lentils to make your base. Some more great ideas can be found at Fab Everyday. Their post includes some specific Halloween and Thanksgiving themed sensory bins, too.

Have you read?

Leave a Reply