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Resources for Teaching Art to Kids

A collection of resources for teaching art to kids! Explore helpful websites, online classes and books to help your child learn about famous artists and styles of art.

Best Resources for Teaching Art at Home

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How does your school share art with their students? We are very fortunate that our art teachers worked all year long with the students in each grade. During each weekly class they explored many famous artists throughout the year. 

As we walked the hallways for Art Show Night each class had created pictures inspired by a famous artist and famous pieces of art. It was truly fun to see how each child created their own masterpiece.   

Here’s my little one’s First Art Show Piece in Kindergarten.  

And also below having her 1st Grade Art piece selected to be on exhibit at the School Board, she was so thrilled!     

As I was observing the student pieces it made me realize that I don’t actually know what the standards are for each grade and thought maybe you might find this information helpful too. 

This is going to be a goal for this year!  

Resources for Teaching Art to Kids

Exploring art with kids can boost creativity, help them express emotions, and support their overall development. Art activities will improve fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving abilities. It also helps your child communicate, build confidence, and develop social skills by working with others.

Through art, kids learn about colors, shapes, and patterns while exploring different cultures and perspectives. Most importantly, art encourages imagination and allows your child to express themselves in a fun and meaningful way.

Visual Arts Standards for Kids

Are you wondering… I’m not an art teacher how am I supposed to do this with my child? I’ve decided we’re including learning about the visual arts in our after school activities. Will you join me?

Here’s a look at the visual art standards for early childhood education.

When teaching young children about art, the focus should be on exploration, creativity, and foundational skills. Here are the top five things to emphasize:

Art is About Process, Not Just Product

  • Encourage kids to explore and enjoy making art rather than focusing on the final result.
  • Let them experiment with materials and techniques without pressure.

Use a Variety of Materials

  • Expose children to different mediums like paint, crayons, clay, and collage.
  • Allow sensory experiences like finger painting and sculpting to develop fine motor skills.

There Are No Mistakes in Art

  • Teach that creativity has no right or wrong answers.
  • Encourage problem-solving by turning “mistakes” into new ideas.

Art Helps Express Emotions and Ideas

  • Use art to help children communicate their feelings and thoughts.
  • Discuss their creations, asking open-ended questions about their choices.

Incorporate Art into Everyday Learning

  • Connect art with literacy, science, and nature (e.g., drawing stories, making prints from leaves).
  • Celebrate their artwork by displaying it, reinforcing that their creativity is valued.

How to Get Started?

First of all check out your local Art Museum. Many museums have children’s programs throughout the summer and at ours we even are fortunate to have a monthly program for children Ages 3 to 5. 

Get Inspired on Pinterest

As you know, I enjoy sharing things on Pinterest that I come across. Here’s our Art for Children Pinterest Board.  

Here you will find a collection of the best art activities to create with your child. I took an Early Childhood Art Coarse in college and I try to share with you as many things as I see as developmentally appropriate and fun for your children. 

Are you ready to create Art with your child?

Discover Art Series for Young Children

Where to start?

Exploring the Great Artist by Red Ted Art

20+ Art Books for Kids by Red Ted Art

Kids Arts Explorers Series by Nurture Store

Creative Challanges hosted by Tinkerlab

Art Themed Picture Books and Activities

Giant Color Wheel Collage Project

A Big Big Art Collection from Hands On As We Grow

Van Goghs Starry Night Art Project for Young Children

Hands on Fun with Art Books with Amy Guiglielmo

You ARE an Artist at ChalkPastel.com

Helpful Websites for Teaching Art to Kids 

Art Books for Kids

Here’s one of my favorite Resources Touch the Art Books by Julie Apple and Amy Guglielmo!  The Meet the Artists Books are wonderful too!

You may also enjoy these activities with your child…

3 Ways to Explore Art with Books and Activities for Kids
Giant Color Wheel Kids Activity #eduspin

Like this idea? Pin for later or share now with a friend!

Comments

  2. I have Count Monet's Lilies & love it. We'd love another one of these fun books!

  3. Hello, I discovered your website thanks to weteachgroup and I think you do a great job for helping parents and teachers with plenty of resources! As for art for children, I myself wrote a post on the lovely book "The Museum" by Susan Verde. It's a story about a little girl visiting a museum where each piece of art evokes a different feeling inside of her.

  4. It's a great list of resources! I love your daughter's artwork, and she should be duly proud. Unfortunately, we don't have much art in our school due to budget crisis. Regular teachers have been replaced by volunteers teaching monthly classes. I tried to do more at home, but unfortunately daughter is not too artsy and would much rather read than paint.

  5. I'm going to have a field day pinning from this. I'm going to start watching my neighbor's kids a few days a week, plus my own three so I'm stocking up on great activity ideas. Thanks for the great art resources 🙂

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