A couple years ago, when my son was three, I put together a bin full of art supplies, so we’d be ready to create whenever the mood hit. I considered an art “shelf” in his room, but I realized I wanted something portable. We don’t always do art in his room. His easel is there, and I like that our art bin tucks away conveniently beneath it, but we like to do a lot of projects outside, where we have more freedom to be messy. The bin lets us pick up and go without much thought. Is it a beautiful day, and we want to head out for some art in the park? Easy! Just grab the bin and go.
Here’s what we have in our bin…
- Tempera paints in a variety of colors
- Watercolor paints
- Finger paints
- A palette
- Paint brushes of all different sizes
- Sponges – different sizes and textures
- Colored pencils
- Pastels
- Charcoal
- Chalk
- Air-Dry Clay
- Food colors
- Plastic cups
- Disposable aluminum baking pans
- Plastic spoons
- Masking tape
- Paper for different paints, pencils, etc, and in all different sizes
- Paper towels for that inevitable spill
Is this all we use? Nope. We use lots of other materials, too. But these are the ones I like to have on hand at all times in the bin. I do also have a small bin for what I consider to be more crafty stuff…. glue, scissors, paste, etc. I just won’t focus on that here.
Am I missing some of your favorite art supplies? Let me know!