A Look Into Our Crafting Space: Painting

There are a few things I always wonder about when I learn a family homeschools is 1. How do they homeschool? Montessori? Charlotte Mason? Waldorf? Classical? A mixture of all of it? 2. What curriculum do they use and if it is different from mine I really hope they offer to let me see it. 3. I wonder what craft/school supplies they keep on hand? LOL. The last one friends, though it is last, is my number one question. So, for the next several posts I'm going to talk about the supplies we use. First up, one of my favorites, painting.

We moved recently and I had to move all of our school and play stuff. It was wild. I am currently still waiting for our school area to be set up (a long story) or I would share with you actual pictures of our area. Stay tuned to my Instagram page though and I will share pictures once we are ready. (Amazon made me say it... some of the links that I use in this blog are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the suggested item I may or may not receive a commission at no additional charge to you)

One of our most wildly used craft supplies is an art easel. The easel we currently have is from Ikea and I love it, but if you do not have an Ikea close to you you can always check out the options that are available online.

To be honest, I prefer the wood easel over the plastic ones, it just seems to be that they are a little less... well... big. I also like an easy that you can clip paper to, but also has an option to add a roll of paper to. Our easel does not have the clip option, but because it has the wood frame I was able to get one of those monster sized paper clips and we just clip the paper to it. 

Sometimes, my 6 year old stands and paints and sometimes he pulls up a chair and paints. I always let him do it whatever is most comfortable. Note, it can be messy, so if you are not into mopping or sponging washable paint out of your carpet you can grab a splat mat (like what is used under a high chair). I wish I had known about these sooner. It makes clean up so much easier. Not that there isn't a spot here or there to grab, but definitely not the wild mess I have seen in the past sometimes.

That brings me to the different kinds of paints that we use. When Joe was younger I solely stuck to the washable finger paints. I would still give him a brush and some of those textured brushes that we still use, but the washable finger paints just comes off of them easier. When we were first starting, I would oftentimes just take his close off of him and leave him in his diaper to play. This way all I had to do take off his diaper and stick him in the bathtub with a bubble bath. He could play with his toys, while I cleaned up. NOTE: At a younger age I would wait until his bath was done before cleaning up because I could usually then coax him into a nap. Once he was a little older and more confident in sitting well, I would go and clean up since it was usually in the kitchen right next to the bathroom that we made our messes. I always recommend doing what you feel most comfortable with for your family. Also, I will note, that while I said that I prefer the wood easels over the plastic ones earlier, the one solid benefit of the plastic easil is that you can take them outside in nicer weather and just spray them down. Another tip for cleaning off your little if it is summer is to stick them in a little wading pool. Then you can spray down the easel and then clean them up in the wading pool while they play.

Now that Joe is older we have ventured into acrylic paint (the cheaper kinds) and watercolors. I still give him the textured brushes and rollers, but it is usually only when I can be 100% present because he can be hard on them and I am teaching him to respect his property and the property of others. I know some use the philosophy that if they break it is gone, but that doesn't really teach him to respect the property beforehand in my mind. I've witnessed kids that just keep breaking things and then just shrug it off when they no longer have the things they broke. Just my two cents worth on that subject.

Now that Joe is older, we have been venturing into not just exploring creativity, but also studying certain artists and learning specific techniques. Here are some of the books and curriculums we use.

• My Little Hands Learn - Their unit studies have a different artist & picture study in each of them. They also have a  "schoolroom" that we are part of which includes monthly virtual Q&A for moms, a one on one call with Vanessa or one of her team members, a virtual co-op with kids from around the world twice a month and and the unit studies themselves with video & details instructions on how to use the units.
• Lily & Thistle - We have only done a few lessons with Lily & Thistle, but we have loved each of them that we have done. You are provided with a list of what you will need. The video instruction is not too long and they offer alternative methods for younger or older children. On top of that, they have a number of really good courses that they offer. They just rolled out a new one this summer that I am excited to use with Joe in the upcoming school year.
• Last year, we started studying a specific artist for the year. I found through another homeschool mom these very nice "coloring books" of some of the more popular artists paintings. Last year, we studied Vincent Van Gogh and this year we are studying Claude Monet. (Note: The Vincent Van Gogh book I linked is now pretty expensive. It is just the one I had gotten at the time. You can find similar coloring books that are cheaper.) I tear the page out of the painting we are going talk about and let Joe color or paint as desired. 
• I also found a couple of really handy art books to grab some different ideas from using different techniques. Joe loves arts and crafts so I always like to mix it up and keep it fun for him. One is the Busy Teachers Guid: Art Lessons and also The Usbourne Complete Book of Art Ideas. Both have some creative and fun ideas to expand and grow how you do art with your child.