The Best Art Supplies for Toddlers
Anyone else have a little budding artist in their home? My two girls can’t get ENOUGH coloring, drawing, painting, and just crafting in general (of course, it could have something to do with the fact that their mom is the Kind of Crafty Mom…😆). So I am SO excited to share this list of the best art supplies for toddlers with you!
Art supplies also make AMAZING gifts for toddlers! I have been working so hard NOT to bring toys into my home that will get played with a few times and then forgotten about. I always feel good about bringing new art supplies into our home – they encourage creativity, enhance fine motor skills, support language development… I could keep going, but the point is, there are SO many benefits to using art supplies for toddlers in your home!
Most of these art supplies for kids are pretty regularly available to my girls, who are almost two years old and almost six years old. Ruthie (my almost-two-year-old) has access to crayons, markers, and notebooks at just about any given time. And Ella (my-almost-six-year-old) is allowed to use everything on this list except tempera paint freely. She does have to ask for permission to paint!
I know not every family will choose to have these materials so readily available, and that’s okay! Start small with what you’re comfortable with, introducing one or two art supplies to your toddler or preschooler at a time. And be sure to enforce boundaries from the beginning – simple ones such as, “crayons and markers are only for paper,” are easy for even your littlest artists to understand.
With those tips in mind, here’s our list of the best art supplies for toddlers!
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Washable Markers
My girls color, draw, and write every day. Washable markers are an easy way to encourage creativity in your home!
Crayons
A staple for every home. You can choose big chunky crayons like these for little hands, or just go with a nice set of regular crayons.
Dot Markers
Dot markers are a fun twist on regular markers, and they’re great for little hands! Do-A-Dot Markers are our favorite.
Notebooks
With the amount of drawing my girls like to do, we quickly realized that using loose paper was not sustainable (they use so much!). Keeping in all kinds of notebooks allows the girls to draw as often as they want.
Construction Paper
Perfect for creating with. I do set firmer boundaries with construction paper – they girls aren’t allowed to use a ton of it. But construction paper is so fun for all sorts of crafts!
Coloring Books
Coloring books are fun for kids and grownups alike! Sometimes my older daughter, Ella, and I spend our one-on-one time coloring together. It’s so relaxing!
Tempera Paint Sticks
If you don’t have paint sticks in your house, you NEED them. We LOVE paint sticks for easy and mess-free painting!
Washable Tempera Paint
Using regular paint takes a little more effort than a lot of the other items on this list, but it’s a great sensory experience for little artists. And as long as you get washable paint, it’s not too scary!
Watercolor Paints
Watercolors are such a fun and totally different painting experience than regular paint. We love to take our watercolors to the beach with us!
Paintbrushes of Various Sizes
You can’t paint without paint brushes! Having a variety of sizes in is helpful for creating all different kinds of artwork.
Glue & Glue Sticks
I recommend having both regular Elmer’s glue and glue sticks in. Glue sticks are less messy and we use them more often, but some projects require the real stuff.
Child-Safe Scissors
Children can start practice with scissors very young – probably younger than you think! At two years old, a child can start practicing making small snips on paper. So make sure you have some child-safe scissors ready for your little one!
Modeling Clay or Play Dough
I almost didn’t include this one on the list, because we don’t have modeling clay in our house, and does play dough really count as art supplies? But air dry modeling clay is on my list to experiment with, and we love play dough so much (and it certainly promotes artistic creativity)!
Stickers
We have so many stickers! Most of our stickers are available for the girls to use however they want. This is definitely something to set boundaries around though – you don’t want to end up with stickers on walls, furniture, or anywhere else they don’t belong.
Craft Kits
I probably need to write a separate post about our favorite craft kits. There are so many great ones! Craft kits are great to have in to encourage all kinds of creativity. I love squirelling craft kits away (especially when I find them on clearance), to pull out on a rainy day, a sick day, or just a time when we need a good diversion.
Looking for more gift ideas for kids?
Art supplies make AMAZING gifts for toddlers, but if you’re looking for even more ideas, I’ve got you covered! Check out some of these ideas to make gift giving even easier:
- The Best Books for One Year Olds
- The Best Outdoor Toys for Toddlers
- The Best Board Games for Preschoolers
- The Best Simple Toys for Toddlers
Which of these art supplies are you most excited to use with your toddler? Comment below or message me on Instagram and let me know! I can’t wait to hear from you!
