This is a mini solo podcast episode, where I share the inspiration behind my business, The Art Pantry. I talk about why I view kids’ art spaces as workshops and what kids learn in them that goes way beyond art. I also share about my online course, Design Camp, and have a free download for you with art prompts for kids that are based on the skills I discuss in this episode.
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The other day I was going through photos of our art space over the years and it hit me how much my girls have learned from having a dedicated art space in our home.
I always say that having an art space is about so much more than just having a place to do art. But I realized that maybe I take this for granted and maybe other people don’t know what happens in an art space over time.
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It’s Back to School time so Aaron and I thought it would be helpful to share our unique perspectives on the subject. Since I’m a designer and organizer, I share tips on setting up your home environment for back to school success. Aaron is a family coach and education consultant so he shares tips on how to re-think your daily routines to create more peace, joy, and connection in your family.
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Art spaces for kids are places of exploration, investigation, discovery, and creation. It’s important not to limit your materials to only art supplies (especially for kids over age 3), but to offer them a variety of materials to enhance their learning experience.
When we first headed out on the road for this 3-month #EndlessCaravan adventure, I knew I would need to figure out a way to set up an art space for the girls in our 23 ft. Airstream trailer.
After moving into the Airstream and organizing all of our clothes, food, and other home items, there wasn’t much space left for art supplies. I was determined to set up an inviting and accessible art space for my kids, so I turned to my go-to design solution… empty wall space.
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Have you joined the pre-holiday toy decluttering challenge? If so, I’d love to hear how it’s going for you. For a little more inspiration during this challenge, I have asked my friend, Alana Chernecki of Brillante Design, to give her two cents on decluttering. Alana is the only other Reggio-inspired preschool teacher turned designer of children’s spaces I’ve ever come across and I’m so excited to introduce you to her today. Read on for her guest post and see her beautiful spaces.
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In the last two weeks I’ve had multiple parents email me requesting help with their play spaces. Most of them are drowning in toys and are worried that there isn’t even room for the new gifts their kids will receive over the holidays. This got me wondering…
“The difficulty I have is my daughter (5 years) as much as she loves to do art/craft like her brother (18months) there are times where she just wants to do something more grown up or even different to her brother. How would you plan this so they can do it side by side?”
When I sent out a recent reader survey, the issue of siblings came up again and again. So I am going to respond to this specific question, but also share some tips that will hopefully cover the other sibling questions that have been raised. Overall, it seems that the biggest struggle when it comes to siblings and art is managing multiple ages, abilities, and attention spans.
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Do you remember the feeling you had when you finally felt like you were a “big kid”? One thing that always evokes that sense of growing up is having your own work desk. Swapping out an old play table for a big kid desk and some new “grown-up” supplies is a simple way to celebrate a child’s development or a milestone birthday.
I love to help families with this transition, so when a friend hired me to design a big kid work space for her daughter’s 8th birthday, I couldn’t wait to get started. The first time I worked on a big kid makeover project was 6 years ago and it also happened to be for an 8-year-old’s birthday (you can see it here).
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