When bad weather confines children inside, there is an ever growing need to have on hand activities related to art projects that serve two purposes: keeping their interest and motivating further growth. We’ve got a variety of art activities for kids that are perfect for those rainy days or times when outdoor play isn’t an option.

The Importance of Indoor Art Activities

Before getting to the projects, let’s see why indoor art activities for kids are so valuable. Art encourages self-expression, enhances fine motor skills, and builds good cognitive development. While your child enjoys making a mess in art, they are learning problem-solving skills, exploring their imagination, and boosting their self-confidence.

Easy-to-Set-Up Art Activities for Kids

Paper Plate Creations

Paper plates are among the easiest, most versatile bases for a kid’s art activity. Using a few simple supplies, your child can turn them into colorful fish, snakes, and even wearable masks1. Great for younger children, this activity is perfect practice for cutting, coloring, and gluing.

Watercolor Coffee Filter Art

This beautiful and simple project brings together science and art. Kids love to see colors blend and spread across their creation as they paint on coffee filters to make unique patterns and designs. It is an excellent way to introduce children to color theory and the concept of absorption.

Salt Painting

Saltpainting is a really fun texture-based art activity for kids. In this process, children will create raised colorful designs by drawing with glue, sprinkling with salt, and then water coloring it. This project yields amazing results but also stimulates many senses which makes it really popular among children of all age groups.

Crafts That Encourage Recycling and Upcycling

Bottle Cap Art

Bottle cap art can make learning about recycling fun for kids. Collect different colored bottle caps and allow children to make mosaics or patterns on cardboard or canvas. This art activity for kids encourages not only creativity but also environmental awareness.

Cardboard Tube Crafts

Don’t throw away those toilet paper rolls just yet! They can be transformed into telescopes, binoculars, and even musical instruments. These activities encourage creative playing skills while recycling household materials.

Art Projects for Children That Include Movement

Marble Painting

Marble painting is a perfect art activity for kids that need to get some energy out. Place paper in a shallow box, add a few marbles dipped in paint, and let kids tilt the box in all directions to create abstract masterpieces. It’s great because it’s an amazing mix of art and physical activity, hence suitable for active children.

Spinner Art

Salad spinner for art? Why not! In this creative art activity, place paper in a salad spinner and add a few drops of paint. Then, spin and create beautiful circle designs. The centrifugal force at work can become colorful artwork in a fun manner.

Sensory Art Activities

Homemade Clay Creations

Homemade clay is an excellent sensory experience and an art activity that involves using just a few ingredients. The children themselves make their modeling and mold into any form they want. This activity allows for the activation of the tactile sense and three-dimensional creativity.

Shaving Cream Marbling

This messy but fun art activity for kids involves swirling colors in shaving cream and then pressing paper onto the surface to create marbled patterns. It is a great way to explore color mixing and create unique prints.

Art Activities for Kids That Teach New Techniques

Tissue Paper Transfer Art

This is an interesting technique using water to transfer color from tissue paper onto regular paper and creates very beautiful watercolor-like effects. It is also a very good way to introduce the children to various art mediums and color blending.

Window Art

Turn your windows into canvases! Using washable paints or even just soap and water, children can paint temporary murals on glass surfaces. This oversized art activity for children invites large movements with easy clean-up.

Group Art Activities

Life-Size Body Art

Roll out a large piece of paper, have a child lie down, and trace their outline. Then, let them and their friends decorate the life-sized figure. This kids’ art activity encourages collaboration and allows for a fun, full-body creative experience.

Collaborative Mural

Place a long strip of paper on the wall or floor and let several children work on a single, large-scale artwork. These art activities for kids teach cooperation and allow for a sense of community creation.

Endless Possibilities with Art Activities for Kids

These are all endless kids’ art activities, really. The most important things are materials, encouragement, and letting them try whatever they feel. At Learning Ladder Academy, we believe every child is an artist; we just have to help that grow inside them, especially when indoors.

Keep in mind that perfection with these kids’ art activities is not the goal, but rather it’s about the process, the creation process, and what they learn en route. Thus, the next time you are indoors and the children have gotten restless, break out the art supplies and watch their imaginations soar. These appealing activities are not going to let kids only have great fun, but a lot of valuable skills will also be developed that shall help them throughout life.

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