Catalina Gutierrez of Redviolet Studio shares her 5 favorite after-school art invitations for kids. Her boys loved these and they’re easy to set up in under 5 minutes!
Updated April 2025
After my children were born, I started experimenting with all kinds of activities and invitations to distract them, engage them, and secretly buy myself some time to do other things around the house, or maybe just drink a cup of tea in peace.
I would often try to set up simple invitations to create or explore. And I found that not only did they really enjoy them, but it was a fun and playful way to work on certain skills.
Basically, an invitation to create is both an opportunity to entice a child to make art as well as an opportunity to introduce a new material, technique, or activity.
Here are a few simple after school art invitations for school-aged kids that are on my favorite list. These are ones my kids have loved, and I hope yours will, too.
Keep in mind that you can make these after-school art invitations as simple or complex as you wish; you can always add more materials or work around what you have at home to make it easy to set up in less than 5 minutes.
After-School Art Invitations
1. Sticker Making
This is one of our all-time favorites! We’ve been making stickers for years and the boys still love it.
All you need is white sticker paper (or white sticky labels) and markers. They can start by drawing on the white side of the paper or label, then cut out their own sticker creations. I guarantee you at least an hour or more of fun!
2. Make Your Own Gift Tags
This is another favorite as kids love working on a smaller format.
I pre-cut a bunch of small squares and rectangles (about 3×4 or 4x4in) out of sturdy white paper and set it out on the table next to markers and/or watercolors and let them go to town. If you have stickers, you can set those out, too. My kids have been making and giving these for years and they enjoy it so much.
3. Watercolors & Oil Pastels
Don’t be afraid to bring some paint into the game! Watercolors are washable and easy to clean up. And once you mix them with oil pastels on sturdy white paper, the effect is super cool because the oil pastels resist the paint, and the colors pop out really nicely.
This is a relaxing activity, perfect to wind down after a hectic school day.
4. Observational Drawings
I know the name sounds fancy, but I promise this is really fun and easy to set up.
Sometimes I use simple stuff I have around the house, like flowers, toys or fruits. When I’m feeling inspired, I bring in something more fun like cupcakes or donuts and set them right in the middle of the table next to paper, markers, or any kind of paint you have.
And then I ask the boys try and focus on the objects (or food) on the table and draw/paint them from observation.
5. Playdough or Clay Creations
Depending on the age of your kids, you can do this with air dry clay or playdough.
Set out either the playdough or the clay next to some tools (you can use things you have at home like old toothbrushes, knives, toothpicks, rollers, scissors, etc.). Add in some other loose parts, like lids, buttons, sticks, pasta, nails, small rocks, etc. and let them do the rest!
I hope you give these invitations a try! Like I said, you can make them as easy or “fancy” as you desire! But I suggest keeping it simple so it’s something you feel comfortable doing often.
I usually try to set up before the kids get home from school and that way, they can go right to it while they have a snack and unwind from their day. These are just a few ideas, but as you start doing it, you will come up with your very own, based on the things you have at home.
More Art Invitations for Kids
- How to Set Up Morning Invitations for Kids
- How to Set Up Creative Invitations for Kids
- 10 Art Invitations to Create for Kids
- How to Set Up an Invitation to Create Using Flowers
- The Art of Strewing for Kids
- 10 Art Prompts for Kids to Foster Creativity
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