The Art Station

Our kitchen island is transformed into an art station during many days of the week. My kiddos love to pull out construction paper, stamps, markers, crayons, glue, paint and whatever they can get their hands on to create.

According to the Search Institute, who has done extensive research on what kids need to succeed, Creative Activities is the least reported developmental asset out of a list of 40 basic building blocks that children need.. Only 17% of young people spend three or more hours a week involved in creative activities.

So my family believes in creating! This week, we've been making birthday cards for lots of October birthdays. We've been cutting pictures from recycled cards and coloring books to glue on our homemade cards. My 3yr old son made the birthday cake with candles on the left, and my 2yr old daughter is very excited her pasting in the photo on the right.

As long as you can tolerate a temporary mess, you can easily create your own art station to nurture the creative minds in your home. Keep a tupperware container or a cabinet full of age appropriate supplies, and pull them out while you're making dinner or cleaning in the kitchen.

Easy Fall Ideas:

• Make pumpkins to hang around the house. You can trace the shape for younger children and let them color in the pictures.
• Make leaf people
• Decorate Boo signs and cannisters for your neighbors.
• Make Ghosts for your front porch.
  

My favorite sites for creative inspiration:

• Art Projects for Kids
• Family Focused Fun
• Let's Explore
• The Crafty Crow