Making Art a Family Project

If you want to make your homeschool a place that values creativity and creating, you can’t sit on the sidelines and wait for it to happen — you’ve got to get messy with them.

In my early years of parenting, I’d set up crafty-type art activities for my first two children, and my creative interests would be pursued during the odd kid-free moment. Then I had a third child, who did not agree with the concept of kid-free moments. That’s when I shifted my approach and began setting up art explorations for all of us. This was purely a desperation move; I felt shrunken and depleted and needed to get my hands in paint and charcoal, even if only for a few moments in between assisting my children. I aimed for at least once a week. With three young children and homeschooling and life in general, it’s too easy to let non-necessities fall through the cracks. But art, for me, was a necessity, and I wanted it to be a regular part of my children’s experience, so I made it a priority.

We’re never going to fit everything in, and if we don’t consciously schedule those things we need and want to have happen, chances are, they will fall by the wayside as we fill our time with other things. We had a lovely art area at the time that I’d created when we had the chance to finish our basement, but nobody was using it. Just creating the space wasn’t enough; I needed to dedicate the time, too. For a long while, Sundays were art days. I carved out the time and treated it like any other commitment. Art wasn’t limited to just that time; once we made a habit of using the space together, we found ourselves there more and more. Before too long, the art area was being used as I’d hoped: my older kids were comfortable going in and out and finding what they needed, and my toddler soon asked for what she wanted with detailed specificity, often daily. They came up with ideas for explorations as often as I did, and we continue to make art together and separately.

The key, of course, is to form the habit of art making. This requires space, materials, and dedicated time. I often hear that the first and second items are difficult, but I suspect the real roadblock is number three. Decide when art time is going to be and write it on the calendar. Make it as high a priority as co-op or that class at the library or the play date at the park—all of which, I bet, get written on the calendar. Block out the time even if it doesn’t all get used up at first. It doesn’t even have to be a lot of time. It just has to be protected.

When I decided we needed to explore art, though, I had no idea where to begin. I realized most everything I’d done with children up to that point was properly classified as “crafts,” so I tried to educate myself. Susan Striker’s Young at Art book has been a fabulous resource, and is all you need if you have young children. For older children and adults, it all depends upon interest, but a challenge might be just the thing for kickstarting an art habit. Brainstorm a list of items to draw until you have a month’s worth, and then draw one per day. (You can also search the Internet for drawing challenge lists, or borrow 642 Things to Draw from the library. That will keep you busy for a while!) The “Lab” series of books is a wonderful resource for digging deeper into certain areas. We have Paint Lab, Drawing Lab, and Art Lab for Kids on our home bookshelf, but the series also includes books on color, collage, printmaking, and more. These are all good places to find ideas to jump start your art explorations.

I can’t stress enough that art in the home is, ideally, open to everyone, and by that I specifically mean adults. I don’t believe it’s fair for the kids to have all the fun. I’ve spoken to far too many parents who believed they just weren’t artistic. If you feel that way, I hope you sit down next to your child and play with the paints, too. Don’t set out to make anything in particular; give yourself permission to make a mess. See what the materials can do. See what you can do. One of the biggest gifts of homeschooling and parenting, in my opinion, is the way it lets us adults tap into the creative, curious enthusiasm of childhood. Join in at the art table. Have fun!

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