First off, art with kids doesn’t have to be a house-wrecking anxiety-inducing hours-long affair. You choose the boundaries. Here’s what I do.
1. You are the boss. This is the VERY most important piece of advice I can give you. Children prefer boundaries and limitations–it makes them feel safer and therefore more creative. Make all decisions with this in mind. You want to do art time with them more often, so that means you have to make it more enjoyable for you.
2. I do “art” not “crafts”. I provide very simple supplies. Paper or canvas and paint, crayons, or markers. We don’t mess with glitter. We don’t mess with glue. We generally don’t use scissors. There is nothing I had more than sweeping up tiny craft litter. Preschoolers like to cut up every individual piece of paper…those pieces of paper will litter your floor. Glitter never ever goes completely away. But, you may hate washing paint out of clothes–so use crayons instead. Whatever, remember Guideline #1.
3. My boys are always welcome to color with crayons and paper–and these supplies are kept within their reach to use at will. They are not welcome to get out paint or canvases on their own. When we paint, they are given a set amount of paint and one canvas or three pieces of paper. Their art time lasts as long as their supplies. This teaches them not to run through paint and paper without thought. It creates intention and a longer attention span.
4. I always keep the lids from the tubs of oats we buy at the store. The tops of canisters of baby formula and cottage cheese, etc work, too. We use these lids for palettes. You can easily rinse them and/or pop them in the dishwasher after they are finished. Plus, the sides of the lids keep the paint contained–even if your little artist gets a little wild with the brush water.
5. I use these cheap kids brushes. I love these paints. I do one of two things when deciding how to dole out paint. This is always the part that gets yelly for them if I provide too many choices. First, if I’m looking to keep things easy–I give them a dab of each of the primary colors and then black and white. They know how to make every hue and shade from these 5 dabs of color. If I’m feeling adventurous and like a fun mom, I will get out my big box of acrylic craft paint and let them choose 5 colors of their own. This always results in more fun in the choosing and less fun in the creating–because they aren’t pushed to mix the colors they want. But, there is value in both exercises.
6. If you are extra stressed or have a super fancy table, you could put down these oilcloth art mats. My boys have become more adept with paint recently and I’ve not had to rely on a wipeable surface as much.
7. Remember, kids learn most when they are exploring and this often requires time and/or mess. It’s okay, remember it’s all washable.
8. I don’t hype art time. I don’t spend a lot of money on supplies. I do this because I don’t want to set any of us up for disappointment. I keep expectations low, I don’t buy $50 worth of craft supplies to have them lose interest after 10 minutes. I also don’t promise that we’ll do art all afternoon. They would be bummed when I ask we clean up after 20 minutes.