Forget Messy and Bring On The Fun - Arts & Crafts at Home
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I have to be honest - I am an ORGANIZING MACHINE. I mean it. Everything in my house has a specific place. When things are organized, it makes it easy to know where to find something and where to return it to when you’re finished. Dishes. Clothes. Shoes. Hats. Dinosaur toys. Blocks. Trucks and cars. Diapers. Wipes. I can’t help it; if things aren’t organized, my stress level goes through the roof.
If you don’t believe me, check out the photo above. This is just one shelf in my boys’ play room. It does take some time to build this type of system, but once you have it in place, it’s easy to enforce and maintain with your little ones.
Top row: arts and crafts manipulatives (scissors, crayons, markers, paint, paint brushes, sponges, tissue paper, random cut pieces of paper, pipe cleaners, glue, confetti, googly eyes, cupcake liners, etc)
2nd row: bins for construction paper, stamps, activity boards, blank cards and postcards, and play-doh
3rd row: puzzles, puzzles, puzzles, and puzzles (sorted by kind)
4th row: separate bins for different categories of toys (blocks, etc) 5th row: board books in height order
bottom row: paper books
Let’s take a look at the arts and crafts bins.
These supplies are on the highest shelves for a reason: so little hands are not able to make a mess when I’m not watching. In all seriousness, it is really both for my kids’ safety and my sanity. If the supplies are out of the rascals’ reach, I have to be asked to bring them down to arts & crafts time. I’m able to then monitor what supplies they want to use and make sure that glue isn’t going into someone’s mouth.
The bin organization system makes it easy to choose the supplies we need instead of having piles of stuff everywhere. It also helps my little ones see what supplies we have available for their creativity to run wild!
Take a look at the almost-two-year-old:
He is in CONTROL of his own arts and crafts projects. Kids having choice, power, and independence is crucial to their development. In this photo, he asked to use markers, so I gave him one sheet of paper and the baggie of markers. He is able to selects the color he wants, remove the caps (and holds it in his hand), use the marker to his heart’s content, replacs the cap, and return the marker to the baggie. All. On. His. Own. Then, he repeats the steps with each color that is a part of his masterpiece. He’s able to maneuver these choices while also helping maintain my system of organization.
My three-and-a-half-year-old has more independence than the little guy. He is able to use multiple supplies at one time. My rule is that he has to retrieve the items himself (after I help bring the bins down to his level) and return the supplies to the bins (reinforcing the importance of taking care of our stuff). He can also use super small manipulatives (googly eyes are his favorite!). He has kid scissors and he knows how to safely hold and transport the scissors to and from the supply bins. He is capable of returning all the tools to their specific bins and understanding that everything has its place.
I know many parents who are apprehensive about doing arts and crafts at home due to the potential of an overwhelming mess. My goal is to alleviate that fear by sharing my organizational tips and tricks that keep my stress level down while also allowing my kids to get creative on a regular basis.
Fear not - if you aren’t ready to take the plunge to a full on in-home art studio, start small. Our favorite art supply that requires very little setup and storage is this double-sided table top easel by Melissa & Doug. Rascal approved as big bro and little bro play together. Be still my heart!
Written by Brandi Stanton, mother of two rascals ages 2 and 3.
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