Inside: Top art supplies for kids. Inside has the basic art supplies, our favorite IKEA art cart, and what should be included in a preschool art center. These are all art supplies our family uses daily.
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Looking for a way to organize kid art supplies?
I was.
It was time to get the loose stickers off the ground and all the markers without caps thrown away.
You see, we once had an organization system for art supplies, and quite frankly, that system was no longer working. It was broken and needed to be fixed before someone slipped on a stapler.
So here we are, all tidied up and ready to rock and roll.
RELATED: See our entire gift guide HERE.
What should be included in a preschool art center?
I am here for you! These are basic art supplies that will help your budding artist have a creative space to explore new ideas.
Before we get into what’s INSIDE the organization, read this first.
Involve your children in the art supply organization set-up.
I assure you, this was not the easiest task.
In fact it was a lot of redirecting and refocusing. Catch our Instagram stories for some behind the scenes how this all went down. For one, my three-year-old was certain the bottom drawer was to be used for his Matchbox cars. No worries, we eventually worked together and got everything straightened out. This is all part of the process.
Pick a Saturday when everyone is home, or your next rainy day.
The reason behind this?
Investment.
When children are involved in the decision process, they are MORE LIKELY to keep the drawers tidy and put the stamp markers back with the stamp markers.
The entire point of organizing art supplies is that the art supplies REMAIN organized.
Start with the markers.
This also makes a fantastic Breakfast Invitation.
Label one bin with a happy face. This represents the markers that work.
Label the other bin with a sad face. This represents the markers that no longer work.
Allow your child to test, and sort the markers.
Throw away the markers that no longer work.
Sort the markers that do.
Both my three-and-a-half- year-old, and my five-year-old came back and forth with this activity as their attention was shifted. Keep in mind, it is age-appropriate for your child to lose interest and then return. Towards the end, I sat with them to finish the job.
Kids art supply organization needs glue.
Don’t let this scare you. Remember, you have been scooping and pouring, throwing, and squeezing. You have been doing these things to help with life skills such as this.
Just like cleaning out the marker drawer, let them fill the glue.
Did it spill? Yep. But this was only after the cap wasn’t screwed on tightly. It was a total accident that this book has helped us take with stride.
Now, I know what you came here for. You’re asking:
“What’s inside those drawers?!”
Or better yet, “Where did you get that Kids Art Supply Storage Cart? “
The best part of an Art Supply Cart is that once it seems to hit a lull, supplies can be replaced and rearranged to regain interest.
STORAGE CART: Find it here.
STORAGE BINS:
Melissa and Doug reusable toy wooden boxes
Small storage boxes I found at Home Depot and Publix. ( I searched an Amazon link for you all, they was outrageously priced there. The bins I ended up using were made by Sterilite. Check your local grocery store or Home Depot to see what they have in stock.
Art Supply Cart Drawer One:
RELATED: You can also use these art supplies for Highlighter Trace.
Art Supply Cart Drawer Two
Honeysticks Crayons (perfect for one-year-olds)
RELATED: You can use these art supplies for Build Your Name, Sticky Pumpkin, and Washi Measurement Game.
Art Supply Cart Drawer Three
Painters swatches – Find at your local paint store
Rubber bands
Scissors (the ones we use)
Glue – I prefer the large containers to refill what I already have
RELATED: Use these art supplies with Sticky Color Sort.
Art Supply Cart Drawer Four
Give them all the cardboard.
Supply them with small pieces of wood to color and maybe even practice nailing into with supervision. Another idea is to supply sandpaper in this drawer along with the wood.
Art Supply Cart Drawer Five
Store your paper rolls here. Then you can use them for DIY Color Maze.
Art Supply Cart Drawer Six
Save this drawer for your random sticker collection. Here we have traditional stickers and felt.
Now your Art Supply Organization is ready to go!
Invite your children to create and see what they can make.
What will you add to your art cart?
Don’t forget about this tape dispenser! It is our absolute favorite.
Love this post! Thank you- as an Art teacher you would think that I could do this on my own (smh) but it’s harder than you think.
I have a few questions though. Where is this space in the pictures? Is this the playroom? Also, what about the 1 year old that can open the drawers, pull out all the markers, possibly color on the curtains, suck on the markers, pull all the tape out of the dispenser, etc. LOL I have a 16 month old and I just can see it ALL go down right now, haha.
Hey Tricia!
The set up is in the playroom. Blog post coming soon since we just spent time making it a more usable space.
I hear you! Setting something up and then having my 18 month old rummage through it is not my favorite to watch.
However, I don’t discourage it. I try to stay close and offer help by bringing him back to the table with the supply and showing him his workspace. This isn’t saying that accidents don’t happen, but by having him feel comfortable also being able to use the space helps with bing able to respect the space down the road. Also, since the big guys helped set it up, they seem to help with the management of putting it back where it belongs. LOL
Dried up markers can be recycled through Crayola’s Colorcycle program at a nearby school that participates – which is a great message for little ones to learn about recycling.
Thank you for sharing this!!
I love this! But did I miss it somewhere, exactly which IKEA cabinet is this? It’s so hard to search their site, or store! Thanks ?
frantically scrolls and clicks through DWG blog posts to find THE. ONE.
I’m remembering this post today. Came back to it because I have a situation: My 6.5 year old is a crafter/creator/jr. engineer/etc… I love the creativity and want to support it. BUT the messes her exploring creates are going to be the end of me. I’m trying to find a way to allow for some level of independence but also set expectations for clean-up and storage of future materials. What do you think?