Art Kits for Kids

Bring Your Kids Along on the Adventure

It can be a significant challenge for those of us who are parents when we begin a new hobby such as nature journaling or plein air sketching. How do you get out there? How do you manage to keep your focus long enough to finish a sketch?

I get it; in addition to being an art educator, I’m also a parent of two very very busy boys ages 7 and 9 who struggle with focus issues¹. It can be hard at times.

This is why I’m fond of the concept of ‘with.’ Rather than focusing on how my busy boys need “supervision” — something external that puts more pressure on the situation — we flip the script to where we are “doing life” together.

Hence, art kits.

Two very busy children, happily occupied.

The gist is simple: put together a kit with everything your kids need to engage in the art-making process alongside you. It’s a win-win — they feel included, you get time to make art of your own, and you all get fun memories of time as a family at the end.

Here is how we made ours:

• Zip bag or pencil box. We opted for an inexpensive canvas zip bag from Hobby Lobby. The key is to find one that’s big enough to hold everything, as it makes it easier for kiddos to keep track of.

• Small sketchbook. We got a small, mixed-media pad that was 4x6 inches, plenty big for sketching, but small enough to fit inside the canvas bag.

• Drawing tools. If your kids like crayons, get them crayons. If your kids prefer pencils, get them pencils. Ideally, it should be something they prefer to draw with. My boys like to use watercolor pencils, so I include those with a water brush.

Drawing at the Maryhill Museum while on a trip through Goldendale, WA.

We have made some of the best memories as a family while out sketching together. Whenever we go hiking, whenever we go to a museum or park, or even kayaking (yes, kayak sketching is a thing!), the art kits get tossed into the car. They stay together, the boys are responsible for their own, and it provides a fantastic opportunity to connect to each other (we often compare/share pages), connect to the subject we are sketching, and connect to the experience, turning it into an adventure.

1. Myself and my oldest were diagnosed with ADHD recently, so the “Oooo, SHINY!” method of going through life is… ahem… an adventure….