I love process art and am here to share my favorite art supplies for kids to help them create!
Selecting the right art supplies is crucial for parents, educators, and caregivers seeking to nurture a child’s artistic abilities.
In this guide, I’ll share all the best art supplies for kids, ensuring you choose tools that are safe, age-appropriate, and conducive to creativity.
In this post:
- Importance of Art for Kids
- Art Supplies for Toddlers (Ages 1-3)
- Art Supplies for Preschoolers (Ages 4-5)
- Art Supplies for School Ages Kids (Ages 6+)
- How to Pick Art Supplies for Kids
- Setting Up an Art Space
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Importance of Art for Kids
Process art plays a crucial role in children’s development and education, offering many benefits that extend far beyond simple creative expression. These include cognitive development, motor skills, emotional expression, visual learning, cultural awareness, creativity, confidence, preservation, and joy.
Top Art Supplies for Kids
When selecting art supplies, safety is paramount. Always choose non-toxic materials that are age-appropriate.
Below, you’ll find curated lists of art supplies categorized by age, which foster creativity and ensure safety and suitability.
Art Supplies for Toddlers (Ages 1-3)
At this stage, children are exploring their ability to mark-make and manipulate objects. The best art supplies for toddlers are easy to hold and safe to use.
Honeysticks Beeswax Crayons
This set of 12 eco-friendly crayons is perfect for small hands and helps toddlers begin to develop their pincer grasp. Kids build their muscles and motor skills as they scribble away.
Crayons pair well with cardboard boxes, paper taped to table tops, and easels.
Washable Markers
Markers are an excellent mark-making tool for toddlers because not much pressure is needed to color. Washable markers make it super easy to clean hands and clothes when kids are done creating.
Kids can use markers to color paper or boxes. It is best to supervise marker use to keep kids from coloring on walls or furniture.
Large Roll of Paper
Large rolls of paper are a must-have art supply for kids! They are great for covering tables, giving kids lots of space to color and create, and keeping surfaces clean.
I love removing chairs so kids can easily move around the table as they create.
Washable Finger Paints
Washable finger paints are an excellent sensory art experience for toddlers! There is no need to design any sort of cute craft project. Instead, simply put out some paints and let kids explore and create.
Finger paints tend to get a bit messy, so make sure to paint near a sink or even outside for easy cleanup.
Finger Painting Paper
Finger painting paper is specially coated to handle the moisture of paint, allowing for vibrant color application and easy manipulation without tearing.
I love to use blue painter’s tape to hold the paper still as kids paint.
Playdough
Playdough is a versatile, moldable material that helps children develop fine motor skills and creativity through sculpting and shaping. This Play-Doh set comes with 10 different colors.
You can also easily make your own playdough at home with safe, non-toxic ingredients. Here is my favorite playdough recipe from Lisa Murphy.
Magic Cloth
Magic cloth, or Chinese water drawing cloth, is the perfect mess-free painting option for toddlers. Paint with water and watch the marks disappear as the water dries! The same cloth can be used again and again. It will get creases and wear slightly over time, but kids don’t mind.
I love using blue painter’s tape to secure the cloth to a wall or easel. Painting on a vertical surface has many incredible benefits for kids!
Water Color Paints
Watercolor paints are another excellent way for little ones to paint while still minimizing mess.
Kids also love watching the water change color, so don’t be surprised if they spend more time exploring paint and water than painting on paper. That’s just fine, too—it’s about the process, not the product!
Protip: spray water on the paints to make them easier for kids to use.
Tempera Paint Sticks
Tempera paint sticks are excellent for mark-making and are less messy than traditional tempera paints. Little ones also love practicing taking the caps on and off, which is fantastic for motor skills development!
I suggest putting out a few at a time so you don’t lose too many caps, and so there isn’t too much to clean up at the end.
Dot Labels
Dot labels are the perfect art supply for kids who love stickers. They’re also so much cheaper than stickers! Let kids use as many dots as they like and see the cool things they create.
We have seen toddlers peel and stick for hours!
Blue Painter’s Tape
We have yet to meet a toddler who didn’t love blue painter’s tape!
It’s a perfect alternative to stickers for little ones since it won’t get stuck to walls or furniture. If your kids can’t rip it on their own yet, it can be helpful to pre-rip some pieces of tape.
Stamps and Ink Pads
These stamps for toddlers have large handles, making them easy to grip and use. They encourage creativity and fine motor skills development, allowing toddlers to explore patterns and colors through fun, tactile play.
Kids love identifying the various animals.
Pair stamps with large washable ink pads and large pieces of paper.
Art Supplies for Preschoolers (Ages 4-5)
Preschoolers are refining their motor skills and starting to understand symbols and patterns. Many art supplies support these developmental milestones.
All of the previous art supplies that are recommended for toddlers are also appropriate for preschoolers.
Washable Tempera Paint
This pack of 6 tempera paints offers a nice range of colors, perfect for young artists to explore their creative potential and can lead to endless painting projects. Kids can easily mix many additional colors using the included primary colors.
These water-based paints are easy to clean and safe for children to use, providing a fun painting experience.
I love to put paints into a muffin tin. It’s super stable, so it doesn’t tip over and is easy to clean.
Painting & Craft Paper
This super heavy paper is excellent for all sorts of art projects, including painting, coloring, and collaging. One hundred sheets of paper will go a long way.
Store paper in a place that is easy for kids to access so they can independently begin art projects.
Paint Brushes
This set of 10 paintbrushes is a nice size for preschool painting projects. Kids build lots of excellent fine motor skills as they paint.
These are durable and easy to clean.
Protip: fill the sink or a tub with warm, soapy water and invite kids to help clean the brushes.
Muffin Tins
I love to use muffin tins to hold paints or collage supplies. Muffin tins are super stable and difficult to tip, unlike cups, which easily spill.
You can buy a new muffin tin or easily find a cheap one at the thrift store.
Low Temp Glue Gun
Yes, even preschoolers can use glue guns! Low-temperature glue guns are perfect for open-ended process-driven art. They are great when paired with many interesting, small, loose parts for kids to glue together.
Crayons
Crayons are a simple yet perfect art supply for kids. They are durable, easy to grasp, and ideal for developing fine motor skills and encouraging creative expression in young artists.
I love that crayons don’t mark hands or furniture like markers do, making them slightly less messy.
Colored Pencils
Colored pencils are another great mark-making tool for kids that deliver sharp lines.
This set of 36 colored pencils comes with a built-in pencil sharpener and a circular box that is easy for kids to get the pencils in and out of.
Scissors
A small pair of scissors that fit a child’s hand well is perfect for allowing them to practice manipulating tools. Kids love using scissors to customize art projects.
Look for scissors with blunt tips, but avoid plastic safety scissors—they tend not to cut well and cause kids a lot of frustration.
Construction Paper
Construction paper offers lots of bright colors for kids to use. In addition to drawing on construction paper, it is easy for kids to tear and cut. These qualities make it great for collages.
This pack of construction paper comes with 96 sheets in 8 colors.
Craft Punches
Kids love using craft punches! They enjoy punching out the shapes and gluing them onto projects. Craft punches can enhance creativity, enabling children to explore pattern-making and decorative projects that integrate the fun shapes they produce.
The punches are great for building hand muscles and hand-eye coordination as kids learn to position the paper and operate the punch.
Each of the 6 punches in this set has a simple lever for kids to operate.
Stencils
Stencils for kids are a fantastic tool for promoting artistic expression and precision, as they guide children in creating neat, consistent shapes and designs.
They are handy for developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, as children learn to control their drawing and painting within the confines of the stencil outlines.
Kids enjoy the 12 garden stencils in this set.
Glue Sticks
Glue sticks are a necessary supply for every art room since they are both convenient and mess free. They’re ideal for sticking paper together.
Kids enjoy watching the purple glue disappear when using Elmer’s glue sticks. I have found these to be the best quality of all the ones I have tried.
White Glue
I love giving kids access to as much white glue as they would like and seeing the amazing things they create! Whirw glue takes a bit to dry but is perfect for all types of collating.
Squeezing glue bottles is a fantastic way for kids to build the hand muscles needed for writing.
Collage Supplies
This set of small loose art supplies is perfect for making collages! The colors and various items inspire lots of focus and creativity.
The set includes:
- pipe cleaners
- buttons
- pompoms
- foam shapes
- feathers
- colored popsicle sticks
- sequins
- googly eyes
- small colored sticks
Present items in a muffin tin and let kids create!
Reusable Modeling Clay
Modeling clay is the perfect reusable art supple since it does not air dry. Kids can make and save creations or use the same clay again and again.
Mashing and molding the clay builds creativity, hand muscles, and focus.
This modeling clay set comes with 12 colors and tools. It also comes with a book, but I would probably present it without the book to allow kids to generate their own creative ideas.
- Your kiddos might also love slime art!
Recycled Items
Items from your recycling can also make excellent art supplies when paired with glue, tape, scissors, paint, and markers!
Examples include:
- cardboard boxes
- packing materials
- tin cans
- Styrofoam
- egg cartons
Here are some of my students using recycling as art supplies:
Art Supplies for School Age Kids (Ages 6+)
School-age children can handle more complex projects and materials. In addition to the above supplies, their art supplies can include:
Quality Colored Pencils
A set of quality colored pencils is beneficial for children ages 6 and up because it allows for more precise and detailed coloring, which is essential as their fine motor skills and artistic abilities develop.
These pencils offer a wide range of colors and better blending capabilities, encouraging creativity, color recognition, and the development of advanced drawing techniques.
Sketch Book
A nice sketchbook gives kids a dedicated space to express their ideas freely, practice drawing skills, and experiment with different art materials.
Owning a personal sketchbook can also foster a sense of pride and accomplishment as kids fill the pages over time, encouraging continuous creativity and exploration of their artistic interests.
Oil Pastels
Oil pastels offer vibrant colors and a buttery texture for easy blending and layering, making them a perfect art supply for kids.
This medium helps children experiment with color mixing and varying artistic techniques, enhancing their creative expression and sensory skills.
This set offers 48 colors offers enough variety for lots of creative expression.
Gelly Roll Gel Pens
Raise your hand if you had Gelly Roll jelly pens growing up? I must have had hundreds and loved writing and coloring with them.
I have found this brand to consistently work the best, and I love all of the color and metallic options.
Decorative Edge Scissors
Decorate-edge scissors are kids favorite!
They add a unique and creative touch to paper crafts, allowing kids to explore different patterns and designs while building fine motor skills.
This set comes with 6 different pairs of scissors for kids.
Washi Tape
Washi tape is an excellent art supply for kids. It’s both colorful and easy to use, inspiring creativity without the mess associated with paints or glues. Its low-tack adhesive makes it safe for children to reposition and reuse on paper, walls, and furniture without damaging surfaces.
Kids love the various designs on the tape.
Craft Kits
Craft kits are a super fun way to get kids to create, often leading to them making something fun they can keep. Look for kits that allow for lots of creativity on the part of the child.
Popular craft kids include:
- Embroidery Kit
- Woodland Friends Sewing Kit
- Glow in the Dark Rock Painting Kit
- Cat Lamp Painting Kit
- Bracelet Making Kit
- Origami Kit
- Mosaic Coaster Kit
How to Pick Art Supplies for Kids
Picking the right art supplies for kids involves considering their age, interests, and the safety of the materials.
Here are some essential tips to help you choose:
- Age Appropriateness: Select supplies that match the child’s developmental stage. For example, toddlers benefit from washable, non-toxic crayons and markers that are easy to grip, while older children may handle more complex tools like fine-tip pens.
- Ease of Use: Choose supplies that children can use independently without constant adult supervision or help, fostering their confidence and creativity.
- Cleanup: Consider how easy the materials are to clean up. Washable paints, aprons, and covered work surfaces can help manage messes, especially with younger children.
- Interest and Versatility: Select supplies that align with the child’s interests and offer a range of uses. For instance, multi-colored pipe cleaners, assorted beads, and diverse types of paper can be used in numerous projects and applications.
- Storage: Consider how you will store the supplies. Storage solutions that allow kids to easily see and choose their materials can encourage spontaneous art projects.
Setting Up an Art Space
Having a dedicated art space at home encourages children to be creative. This space doesn’t need to be large—a corner of a room or a small table is sufficient.
Here are a few tips for setting up an engaging art space:
- Accessibility: Keep art supplies within easy reach so children can choose what they want to use.
- Organization: Use containers and labels to keep supplies organized. This teaches children to take care of their tools and to tidy up after themselves.
- Inspiration: Decorate the space with a variety of artworks, including some created by the child. This beautifies the space and boosts the child’s confidence in their abilities.
Final Thoughts on Art Supplies for Kids
Choosing the right art supplies for kids is about more than just filling their time—it’s about giving them the tools to express themselves and discover the world in new ways.
By providing a variety of safe, appropriate art supplies, you can help lay the foundation for a lifetime of creativity, exploration, and love for art. As children grow and develop, their creative possibilities are endless, and the joy they find in art can be one of their most enduring childhood memories.
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