5 Ways to Encourage Your Kids Creativity Today
Fostering creativity, arguably the most important skill for the next generation, begins at home. Here are 5 Ways You Can Encourage Your Kids Creativity Today 1. Â Set out paper that is much smaller than usual or much larger than usual. And pair it with a pencil or some paints. 2. Cut a hole through the […]
How To Make Heart Crowns for Valentine’s Day
How to make heart crowns with just a few simple supplies. These stained-glass crowns are a fun Valentine’s Day craft project for kids. Updated December 2022 We made stained glass heart crowns the other day as a Valentine craft, using the same technique as our flower crowns from last spring. Instead of flower petals, though, […]
The Artful Parent’s 6 Year Blog Anniversary
I started The Artful Parent on this day, six years ago, with a simple introductory post in which I said: In this blog I plan to write about the Toddler Art Group, about my daughter’s art experiences, and, above all, about my attempts to parent in a way that encourages creativity, art, curiousity, and learning. While […]
Heart Sculptures :: A Great Valentine’s Day Craft & Gift!
We had so much fun with the plaster balloon sculptures, that we made them again the next day. This time, we (I, mostly) focused on seeing if we could shape the plaster-filled balloons into hearts. And yes! It worked! So now we have some sturdy plaster heart sculptures and have plans to make even more […]
Plaster Balloon Sculptures with Kids
We made sculptures the other day with balloons, plaster of Paris, and four giggling children. The whole process and experience was awesome and was the perfect antidote to the freezing weather outside. Let me just say right now that you have to try this. It takes a bit of prep, but is so worth it! I found […]
Creative Play Things: Simple Props for Open-Ended Play
My four-year-old and her friend Emily surprised me by playing for hours with some little wooden apples and rainbow buckets. They sorted these creative play things, carried them, “ate” them, fed them to their (stuffed) animals, danced with them, created games around them, brought them along in the car and giggled about what silly things […]
Melted Crayon Stained Glass Bunting for the Window
How to make a beautiful melted crayon stained glass bunting for New Years or anytime using words, wishes, and images. This is a great family craft project! As part of our welcoming of the New Year, we started to make a variation of our “Words & Wishes for the New Year” bunting (from The Artful […]
Make a Happy New Year Banner with Tape Resist
The kids and I made a colorful and happy welcome banner to hang up and celebrate the new year. I think we managed to use five of our all-time favorite art materials in this one art project! Make a Happy New Year Banner with Tape Resist MATERIALS Washi tape (which we pulled up afterward, so […]
Happy New Year!
Hello, my friends. And happy, happy New Year!
