How To Cultivate Creativity In Kids | How We Do Delight-Directed Homeschool Art

I am not a very creative or art-centered person, but I have always wanted to cultivate creativity in my kids and allow for delight-directed homeschool art in our home. I guess it is because I don’t feel confident in teaching art, and I lack a creative side myself.

I was taught and encouraged to love learning in general and to follow my interests as a child, and that has given me the desire to encourage the same in my children. Even when – and perhaps, especially when – I am not very interested in the same things as my kids: like art or crafts.

My mom never home-educated most of us kids or any of us for all of our schooling. I attended public, then private, and then homeschool, but my mom seemed to have a natural knack for teaching us to our strengths.

For me, that meant she strongly encouraged my writing, desire for learning through reading any/everything I could get my hands on, and my love for organizing, even though she felt lacking in all of those things. I hope to glean from her wisdom and recognize my child(ren)’s strengths and interests.

Our Favorite Art Supplies

Mike’s Inspiration Station – Volumes 1-6Mike’s Inspiration Station – Volumes 7-12See The Light ART CLASS (Volumes 1-9; 36 lessons)Bob Ross: The Joy of Painting – Nine 1-Hour Instructional Guides 10 DVD Gift SetALEX Toys Artist Studio Portable Art SetArt 101 142-Piece Wood Art Set

How To Cultivate Creativity In Kids For Homeschool Art

• Surround them with artists, creativity, and art. Whether via visiting art museums, checking out books on art from the library, studying artists, or watching Bob Ross on Amazon Prime, provide them exposure to artists, creativity, and art. If you are artistic and creative, then include them in your ventures, let them see you in the middle of the beautiful mess, and experience the satisfaction of a completed project. For at-home instruction, we love Mike’s Inspiration Station, See the Light, and Bob Ross. There are so many craft activities on the web to use as a starting point.
• Provide them with art supplies and tools. Starting at preschool/toddler age, I give my children blank paper and colored pencils and tell them to draw for me. As they reach developmental milestones, add various media to your home’s collection of art and craft supplies. We prefer colored pencils over crayons since they hold up better for teething babies and curious toddlers. Water paint, oil, and chalk pastels, markers, scissors, glue, large beads and string, and the list goes on. There are endless amounts of items that can be brought into your home for your children to get creative with. The more hands-on, the better.
• Don’t force it, just allow it. Not all children are in love with art and crafts. That’s okay. The whole point is to allow for their creativity and interests to be strengthened, so if art is not their thing, do not stress. Just keep the supplies in your home and allow them to be creative if the desire strikes. Encourage them to try various styles of art and crafts, and they may finally find one they enjoy. After all, writing is painting pictures and creating a mood with words, great books are masterpieces, and making a space well-organized is a form of art, so I am an Artist in my own right; it is just not what others typically identify as art.
• Relax, every mess can be cleaned up. I know that we homeschool moms are constantly trying to keep up with housework. The thought of letting our kids make a huge mess can seem overwhelming, but I have (slowly) learned that it’s okay to allow a mess for an hour or two. But be sure to make cleaning up a team effort! Living, working, and learning together are some of the beautiful results of homeschooling our children. Teach them how to have fun and how to clean up after themselves. That is what ‘real life’ consists of. It also helps to teach them to ask permission before taking out the art and craft supplies. As a parent, it is also okay to say ‘no’ when you need to. Just make sure they know a ‘yes’ will happen a few times a week.

Best Homeschool Backpack Ideas

How We Do Delight-Directed Homeschool Art | Why Pack A Homeschool Backpack

The closest I get to formal art lessons is using the Draw Write Now books. I love their simplicity and the companion workbook. They are definitely worth checking out!

One other thing we recently did was to buy each of our children a backpack and fill it with all kinds of art and craft supplies. This makes a great gift idea for birthdays, Christmas, or Easter!

This keeps their supplies and creations separate from their siblings, important in a large family. It also keeps the supplies contained and organized, important to this type-A mom!

They can grab their backpacks from their bedrooms, bring them into the kitchen or living room, get messy and creative for a while, then put everything back into their backpacks and put them away in their bedrooms. It has been a great way to cut down on the mess and the sibling fighting over supplies.

It also works well when you need to leave the house. Grab their backpacks and let them do some ‘road-schooling’ for the day.

Things to put in the backpacks:

• • a pack of blank printer paper
  • construction paper
  • cardstock
  • markers
  • colored pencils
  • ruler
  • scissors
  • glue sticks
  • notebook
  • pencils/pens
  • erasers
  • coloring book
  • watercolors
  • chalk and/or oil pastels
  • stationary (letter writing material & envelopes)
  • folder for saving their projects
  • mini whiteboard or chalkboard with dry-erase markers or chalk
  • a small container with a Lego set for building on the go – Tip: use an Altoids tin for a mini-set or a pencil box for a medium set, hot glue a small Lego base plate inside the lid to be used with the bricks!

As I said, the ideas are quite endless. I hope this encourages you to cultivate creativity and allow for delight-directed homeschool art in your home!