Everybody has two sides of their brain and both need nurturing. School is very focused on what the left side of our brain needs, but the right side is often left behind. So what does the right side of our brain want? It wants to play. It wants to get messy, build things, and make things, color, and paint. It wants to imagine and have adventures. It wants to do art. This is especially true for young children whose brains are being sculpted for the work they will do the rest of their life. 

If you’re already a crafty art person – this sounds pretty natural and is probably already happening. When our kids were young we actually had a dedicated ‘art room’ in our house.  It was a given for us, we never considered not having a room to do art. But we realized later that it was quite unusual and a treat we were very thankful we had. In it there was a big old table for projects, a no worry floor and a whole wall of cabinets full of art supplies that matched the kids ages and interests. You may not have the space for a separate art room, but rest assured by providing supplies and making time you’re doing much to encourage artistic play and build brains. 

Now if you’re a left brainer – this may all seem a bit too much or too messy. Maybe even a bit silly and unnecessary. Most cultures score and rank intelligence numerically, by looking at grades, test scores and IQ#s. These kinds of scores measure left-brain qualities. BUT real brilliance involves BOTH sides of the brain. Albert Einstein, one of the most celebrated geniuses of our time, was a right brain thinker. He “saw’ himself riding a beam of light. Then he leaned on his left-brain abilities to prove and share his theory of relatively. So come on lefties – let’s get messy and do some art! 

It’s an exciting time to be doing art at home because there are so many sources available to inspire you, so you can then inspire your kids. Creative ideas are coming at us from every direction, especially through websites, blogs and Pintrest. 

Here are just a couple of my favorite websites for making art at home: 

The Artful Parent – is a great website, dedicated to “simple ways to fill your family’s life with art and creativity”. The site is full of pictures and ideas for an endless variety of projects you can do at home, like marble painting, glue batik and watercolor resist techniques. Her ‘melted crayon rocks’ are tempting me to head home, warm some rocks and get busy with my crayons.

Jean Van’t Hul, the author of the site, even has an easy to use book, full of ideas that will see you through a whole year of art and creativity.

The Imagination Tree – is a site dedicated to ‘creative play and learning for kids’, preschool and early elementary age. The projects are creative, hands on, colorful, art focused and often with a tie to other kinds of learning, like the Science activity: Fizzing Fairy Potions and Sight Word Pebbles. Each project is clearly detailed and illustrated with beautiful photographs.  

Get started

Where do you start?  The Artful Parent published a great post on their favorite art supplies to have at home. Check it out…..

The Artful Parent’s All Time Favorite Kid’s Art Materials 

For the creative right side of you – spend some time flexing the right side of you by coloring…. You Know You Want to Color 

Making art and being creative matters. It matters for all of us. The right side of our brains are there for a reason – and it’s up to us to develop and use all the gifts we have been given. So have some fun finding ways for your kids, no matter what their dominant side, to explore and enjoy doing art. And don’t forget to invite yourself to the party.