Creative Kids: Make an Art Cart

As parents, we can encourage creativity by making materials available to our kids.

This art cart is in our kitchen and gets used daily. When we had the supplies in drawers and cupboards they got little use.

It works so well because everything is easy for kids to see and reach all the materials and they don't have to ask to use anything. When inspiration strikes, they walk over to the art cart and start creating.

There is a variety of materials so the possibilities for what they create are endless. The basics: pencils, pens, markers, crayons, pencil crayons, scissors, tape, glue, stapler, eraser, sharpener, ruler. There's regular and watercolour paint, play dough, and a mix of types of paper. The magazine holder works great to hold all the paper and a clipboard. (Clipboards are a great tool to inspire writing and drawing! Kids in my classes loved to walk around with a clipboard and pencil to record words in the room or survey friends.)

It keeps all your art supplies in one place, neat and tidy. No more forgetting you already have all the pencil crayons you need and buying another pack!

I created a cart for our school raffle in December. It was a popular item that one lucky family brought home. I offered a handout so people could create their own. Here's a copy for you!