I’m a mom of three, with my fourth’s expected arrival only a few weeks away, so parents, I FEEL YOU when it comes to being tired, not wanting to play, not knowing what activities to plan or carry-out etc.
During the school year, I teach preschool and I have a specific plan for art, Chinese, math, etc. I plan and create many fun learning activities that I feel pretty good about what I’ve done. However, during the summertime and now that I have a child that is older than preschool age, I’m wondering how I can enrich learning during the extra time, down time, summertime, weekends, etc.
My favorite go-to activities for feeling successful in helping my kids learn are ART activities and SCIENCE activities. In this post I’ll focus on the top-ten little-known art materials that make my kids think I’m the cool mom and help me to create and carry out super fun learning activities that also integrate art.
In this post I’ll focus on the top-ten materials that make my kids think I’m the cool mom and help me to create and carry out super fun learning activities that also integrate art.
These materials are all available on the Discount School Supply website and I highly recommend it. As a preschool teacher and as a mom I have tried LOTS of brands and LOTS of different stores to purchase art supplies. Discount School Supply is my favorite because their stuff is high-quality (as long as you know which materials to look for – don’t worry! I’ll help you know what’s best) and the price is right. If you do end up shopping at DSS, you can get $10 off your first order if you you use this link: https://refer.discountschoolsupply.com/suzywilliams23, It is a referral link, so we BOTH get discounts off the next purchase. As a preschool teacher there are ALWAYS more purchases to come for me so my students, school, and wallet would love to have an excuse to get more of these awesome art supplies, and I hope the $10 OFF discount can help you explore some of these fun supplies.
So without further ado, here’s my favorite less-known art supplies:
1. Liquid Watercolors
To be honest, I didn’t even know these existed until after I had already been a teacher and parent for many years, but once I found them and began using them, I can’t imagine going back! Lots of people use food coloring for things that I use liquid watercolors for, but I see the value in the watercolors for many reasons.
You can see some ideas of how to use this in this post.
- You get WAY MORE use, aka you can use a bottle of liquid watercolor for WAY longer. The food coloring bottles are teeny tiny, but the liquid watercolor has so much more product.
- Variety of Colors – there are only a handful of food coloring colors and the more unique ones are harder to come by. Liquid watercolors come in tons of different colors.
- You can PAINT with them. This seems like DUH! But if you make paint with food coloring and water, it is not nearly as beautiful. Also, I find these so much easier to use for kiddos than the watercolor palettes. Don’t get me wrong, I still own and love watercolor palettes too, but when you want to only use a certain few colors and you don’t want kids to feel frustrated that their colors are not coming out bright enough – the liquid watercolors are the way. To. Go.
- Easily squirt in bags to create your own play dough, colored rice, colored beans, slime, etc.
2. Pipettes
I have found some items (such as these pipettes) are cheapest on Amazon, so here are some affiliate links if you’re interested in these:
I want to purposely put these near the liquid watercolors because they are often used in tandem. Create a colorful water table for play or drip liquid watercolors down a paper to learn about gravity. Count the number of dots as they drip out of the pipettes, gently squirt color onto a project such as these raised salt drawings, etc.
3. Biocolor Paint
After a few years of teaching preschool and using paint on the regular, I now realize why it’s worth it to spend a bit more on the RIGHT KIND of paint.
There are TONS of options on the Discount School Supply website, but BICOLOR is best. Powders = a pain, finger paints = unnecessary for me, foam paint = I just mix shaving cream and glue with biocolor paint, tempura washable paint =okay, but it chips and flakes off the paper. Acrylic paint= great for certain projects, but stains and is more expensive.
Most of our “play” and “learning” art activities that pop up more frequently only require the Biocolor paint rather than any other kind.
4. Brushes
They are great for younger kids/toddlers who need a more immediate response from touching brush to paper.
I guess this is obvious but get yourself some brushes. I started with natural and nylon brushes, I prefer the nylon. I also realized after some time that some brushes are HUGE and it’s nice to have smaller brushes for various projects. So make sure you have what you want and what you need so frustrations don’t happen later.
If you’re letting kids free paint the big brushes tend to create more mess because they use more paint and the paint gets thick and globby and it’s harder to be specific and meticulous with your artistic plans.
I end up loving these more for older kids and conserving materials. I feel they give the kids more control and precision.
5. Bingo Dauber/Paint Dauber/Dotters, Do a Dot Markers
It’s basically paint but within a tube with a circular sponge at the end. It is great for making any review activity more fun. Simply write out words, numbers, etc. on the paper that you want the kids to work on and use the dot markers to “dot” the correct answer. They last for a long time and can also be use for free art projects too.
There are some fun learning activities you can do with these: check out this post to see what I’ve done in the past.
I haven’t tried these cheaper ones from Amazon. It looks like the dot may be smaller, but they may be a great option!
6. Play Dough and Foam Dough
When I’m teaching preschool, I always make my own play dough. It is more cost effective for me because I have a big group of kids and if I buy the supplies in bulk, then I know I’m saving money. It allows for big batches and I can just keep different colors in different Ziplock bags and easily whip up some new dough if we’re running low or we need a new color to go with a new theme or activity.
I buy this bulk bag of Cream of Tartar from Amazon, and a large bag of salt from Walmart of Costco and I’m pretty much good to go for a couple YEARS play dough.
Here is the recipe I use: Combine the ingredients in a pot and stir constantly as you cook over medium heat. Add in Liquid Watercolors or Food Coloring to dye it.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup salt
- 4 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
However, if you are using play dough for homeschooling or only your own kids, it might be worth it to you to just buy the play dough since you may not want to invest in bulk supplies and commit to making your own batches. This decision is obviously up to you, but I like the big tubs of play dough, slime, foam dough, etc. that they have on Discount School Supply because it is one of those right-there, ready-to-go, grab-and-play things that is an instant mom win. If you’re worried about the messes then look no further than my next recommendation.
7. Art Mats
These are AWESOME for playing at home, homeschooling, enrichment activities, etc. I love being able to protect my dining room table and give the kids a visual limit to the area they are allowed to create on. They know the art supplies DO NOT LEAVE THE MAT and then I don’t end up with play dough in their bedroom or paint on the walls.
They are BIG too! Much bigger than you may think from the photo – but I love that the kids have plenty of space to work!
The art mats are nice and large so kids feel great about the amount of space to create. They are also washable and reusable. The pack comes with six different colors. They are on amazon as well, but they are cheaper from DSS. Click photo and search “Art Mats”
8. Tempura Paint Sticks
Every time my kids have friends over, the friends go nuts over the paint sticks. They are hands-down the preschoolers’ favorite supply at the art table, writing table, coloring areas, etc.
They look like a glue stick, but when you rub them on paper the color glides across smooth and creamy like lipstick!
It makes it easier for kids to color a larger area and younger kids who are less patient tend to like these because it doesn’t take as long to “complete” a picture or color the whole page. I personally bought the biggest pack they have because I never want to run out of these!
9. Oil Pastels
These are a special tool. They are honestly similar to crayons and if you don’t have the budget for them, that’s okay. But they do have some unique properties that make them a super fun art tool for kids. You can add oil and spread them, you can add water, and spread them like watercolor paints.
I bought the super giant pack from DSS, but its WAY cheaper on sale on Amazon at the moment, so if you need a small pack or want a super sale, click the photo to check it out.
10. Watercolor Paper (or Sulphite Paper)
If you’re doing wet art – this is so worth it. It can be so frustrating for kids when they work hard on something and then the paper rips because they used too much paint, too much water, or too much force. Watercolor paper is thicker and stronger than normal paper and I love it. The second-best option to watercolor paper is this 80lb sulphite paper because it’s thicker and durable but cheaper than watercolor paper. But I still recommend some watercolor paper for those more special or more wet projects.
Another great deal on sale right now!
BONUS: Sharpies
I know most parents do not want their kids to use permanent markers, but if you’re supervising these are great for certain occasions. If you ever want to color on something besides paper, like a wooden craft– these are great. Also, if you ever want to help kids draw an outline of something before they start adding oil pastels or watercolors you need to use a permanent marker rather than a washable marker so that the color doesn’t bleed and the outline doesn’t get ruined.
These are also a necessary teacher/parent tool for creating simple learning and practice activities so that the marker doesn’t bleed if kids are using paint or dotter markers to stamp on top of a character you’ve written etc.
Obviously, we also love markers, crayons, scissors and glue as well and I have tons of those, but I think those are the basics that everyone already is familiar with and I wanted to give you a chance to EXPAND your art horizons for your kids and let them experiment and explore with these fun materials!
How Do I Store and Organize my School Supplies and Art Materials?
Everyone has different circumstances when it comes to space and resources. I’m sure my supply situation is unique because I’m trying to maintain resources for a preschool classroom rather than just one or two children. However, I will show what I use and what has worked well for me and you can use it as inspiration and obviously adjust as needed within your home or classroom.
First of all. I love these rainbow drawers. I use them to keep markers, dotters, tempura sticks, scissors, etc! I label each drawer and also each drawer can pull all the way out and be set on a table when those supplies are in use. My kids and students know which drawer to grab something and put something back based on the colors and labels. It is a life saver!! Mine has lots of different things I need as a preschool teacher such as a drawer for read-aloud books, teacher tools, math dice, etc. But the drawers could hold pencils, crayons, drawing paper, glue sticks, etc.
I also use tons of these plastic drawers for various art supplies in different locations. I keep crayons and pencils in these dear a drawing table. I use the larger sets to keep play dough and play dough tools etc. I also have many of these in my storage room for “teacher supplies” that only I can access such as collage materials, stickers, clothespins, yarn, watercolor paint trays, paint brushes, etc. The possibilities are endless! And they are easily adjustable.
These trays have less to do with organization and more to do with keeping things clean as we create. If we are doing a science experiment, something with salt, glitter, sand, etc or something thats very wet, I put the paper in this kind of tray to contain the water or messy materials.
This paper organizer is the closest I could find to mine. Mine has more slots and is very wide. This one might be more practical for most spaces. It is so wonderful to be able to sort paper by color or type and see which one you need to replenish soon!
