Abbey Donald of Wild Wattle Folk shares why she likes morning invitations for her kids & gives ideas for caregivers to use at home.
When I became a mother, I knew I wanted to surround my children with ways for them to express themselves through creativity.
Today our house is littered with little baskets with invitations for the children to get creative. Invitations through musical instruments, paints, clays, or our big basket of “useful things”–– which is filled to the brim with recycled items they can turn into something new.
There are many ways to foster creativity within the home. These can be done while fostering a child’s independence AND allowing you a relaxing moment to enjoy a hot drink.
Here are some of the ways I set up our days with morning invitations for my children to harness their creativity and set their inner artist free.
Why I Like Morning Invitations with My Kids
MATERIALS (These are ones we like & are pictured here)
- Botanicum: Welcome to the Museum
- We are the Gardeners
- The Complete Book of Flower Fairies
- Stockmar block crayons
- Stockmar modeling wax
- Jovi air dry clay
- Natural Earth paint
- Ashford wool for felting
- Needle felting equipment
Morning Invitations for Kids
Each morning my two little ones wake up to find an invitation to create on our dining room table. During the evening while they sleep, I gather a range of creative mediums for them to use the next morning.
These can either be themed or not. And I always incorporate one structured activity with an example in case they desire a little more direction.
I balance this by offering a basket full of other free flowing ways to create whatever they desire.
This is just an invitation; one they can choose to either accept or leave for later in the day. However, I find that often, with their dreams still alive in their memories, they rush to recreate the amazing things their imagination dreamed up the night before.
My two wild ones are deeply interested in collecting all the beautiful spring flowers that have been blooming here recently. So, with that in mind, I set up a morning invitation to explore different ways to create flowers.
I also make sure they cover a range of different creative styles such as gluing, painting, sculpting, felting, printing and drawing.
Invitations to Create
- I start by finding an organized activity for them to do––one that I will do the night before and set out as an example. For this particular themed morning invitations, I chose needle felted flowers. This is a very simple and easy way to create on a new and exciting medium.
- Then I arrange some books with different illustrations of flowers and plants for them to look at and gain some inspiration. I also put out a basket full of different art mediums that the kids can use beside them.
- I fill some plates and bowls with an assortment of petals. These are pressed flowers as well as some dry flowers to allow my children the ability to create with flowers.
Once the kids wake, they are greeted with a dining room table full of beautiful floral treasures. These will hopefully inspire and invite them to create their own masterpieces.
If they choose to do something else in the morning I don’t mind. I know in their own time they will come back to begin creating.
Our Creative Station with Art & Craft Supplies
I think having accessible art and craft items for tiny hands is so beneficial. It fosters a child’s creativity, as well as their independence. Often ideas of things to create will spark in my children’s imagination at the most spontaneous of times. And most likely it’s when I’m not available to go and gather all the items they want me to spread out for them.
Our little “Creative Station” is an old kitchen pantry. I find it perfect for storing their paints, clays, paper and other mediums, well as my own creative resources up on top.
It’s such a powerful tool to give your child access to art supplies the moment a creative idea strikes. It helps limit frustration in waiting & gives the opportunity to become more independent and free within the creative process.
Create & Connect with a Caregiver
Co-creating is such a simple way to foster creativity in the home. In a world full of PDF downloads, it allows children to see all the beautiful quirks that come with creating your own work. This also gives kids the gift of time with the artistic process and with their care provider.
Not all co-creating needs to be done at the same time. A great way to do this is to partially create something for them to finish the following day.
For example, I might partially draw an owl and leave some feathers and glue as an invitation for my little one to finish it. A similar idea can be done with a lion, with leaves and glue to be attached as its mane.
More Creative Invitations for Kids
- 10 Invitations to Create to Bring Out Kids Natural Creativity
- 5 After School Art Invitations for Kids (Easy to Setup in Under 5 Minutes!)
- How to Set Up Creative Invitations for Kids Each Morning
- The Best Kids Art Ideas
- The Benefits of Arts for Kids
- The Art of Strewing (A low-key way to encourage kids’ creativity & learning)
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