I recently finished a client project for a family with four kids in a backyard barn. One side of the barn was already set up as a sofa/TV/lounge area and the other half of the barn was intended to be an art and play space. My client installed a climbing structure and crash pad against one wall of the play area so my job was to set up an art workshop in the rest of the play space.
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It seems that the start of this school year has required some major adjustments for all of us. For those of us with kids in traditional school, we have had to re-think how we approach learning at home. And whether you have been a homeschooler for years or you have unintentionally become a homeschooler through distance learning, the Covid-19 pandemic has changed how our kids stay active and in touch with nature and our communities. This is one thing we are continuously trying to improve in our family and I’m realizing that it goes hand in hand with home education.
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Our family has toyed with the idea of painting a mural on our fence for years. We love the idea of adding playful art to the neighborhood but never took the time to actually make it happen.
Until, of course, a global pandemic hit and we were suddenly shut in at home wondering what to do with our kids during our makeshift homeschool hours. Before their schools started distance learning we made a calendar and the four of us decided to each teach a homeschool class. Karuna taught Ora singing, Ora taught me and Karuna gymnastics, Aaron held a writing workshop for the girls, and I decided to lead a family mural class.
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*I wrote this post 3 months ago and am just now getting it up. My resurgence of creative energy at that time was short-lived, but I’ve been getting stronger and it’s coming back more and more*
June 24th 2019: After 6 months of illness and recovery, I’m finally having a resurgence of creative energy! I still don’t have a ton of physical energy, but I wanted to get back in the studio with my girls and try to finish our canvases we started in November.
Whenever I run the Family Canvas Challenge, I encourage families to collaborate on a shared canvas, but working individually can be just as great. Because we’ve made 3 family canvases together, we often try something new each time to keep it interesting.
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Last November, I hosted a Family Canvas Challenge to encourage family connection and creativity during the busy holiday season.
I was blown away by how many families around the world joined in (close to 1500!) and were excited to do art together as a family.
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Every holiday season, our family loves to spend time together making playful decorations and gifts for loved ones. With young kids, I always try to make these crafting activities fun, simple, and process-based, so kids can truly enjoy the experience.
(This post is sponsored by Walmart (thank you Walmart!), all opinions expressed are my own)
This year, I am so excited to partner with Walmart.com to share 5 of our favorite artful and kid-friendly projects for the holiday season. We had a blast making these colorful tree ornaments and the coolest kid-made wrapping paper you’ll ever see!
I love these projects not only because they are super budget-friendly, but even more so because they bring us together as a family to have fun, get crafty, and make gifts for others. Isn’t this what the holidays are all about?
Here’s a peek at my new favorite printing technique for kids- It’s easier than you think!
In addition to the mini canvas ornaments and the wrapping paper, I’m sharing 5 super fun and easy holiday projects that the whole family will love over on Walmart.com.
Click here to head over to Walmart’s blog and see all of the steps and supplies for each project.
What’s your favorite kid-friendly, Holiday project? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
Two years ago, I was inspired by an Art Pantry reader, Emily, and her family advent tradition of working on one canvas for each day of the Advent calendar. I loved the idea of layering different materials each day on a collaborative canvas and turning it into a fun game that we could do together as a family.
We adapted this idea and worked on our canvas about twice a week for a month. Each time we worked on it, I would bring out a new material, hide it in a bag, and set it out on the canvas for my girls to discover. They loved the anticipation of not knowing what the next material would be!
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This is a mini solo podcast episode, where I share the inspiration behind my business, The Art Pantry. I talk about why I view kids’ art spaces as workshops and what kids learn in them that goes way beyond art. I also share about my online course, Design Camp, and have a free download for you with art prompts for kids that are based on the skills I discuss in this episode.
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The other day I was going through photos of our art space over the years and it hit me how much my girls have learned from having a dedicated art space in our home.
I always say that having an art space is about so much more than just having a place to do art. But I realized that maybe I take this for granted and maybe other people don’t know what happens in an art space over time.
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This week, we have a mini Q & A episode based on a listener’s question about parenting and how to encourage kids to live an inspired life:
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