Teaching Kids Art Through Picture Books

Drawing things in nature teaches kids to really slow down, pay attention, and see the beautiful natural world in front of them.

One quick tip that always helps them to be ready to learn and draw from nature is to carry a sketchbook and colored pencils in your car. If you go on a hike or a picnic or a vacation, encourage them to take a few minutes to sketch the lines and shapes of something in nature as you go. This sketchbook can be put in a backpack or in the seat pockets of your vehicle so your child is always ready to sketch.

After I looked for an inexpensive sketchbook or kit to recommend to you, I realized that, outside of Christmas or birthdays, I would not have bought something like this for my kids. I had 5 kids. So we often made simple books for the current learning objective. There is a simple way to do this.

The good news is, you don't have to buy anything! You've probably got the time and resources to make a 1 minute sketchbook at home for your kids. These cost very litt...

 While we've been talking about great picture books bout homes, and even drawing a fun whimsical house, (check out this post) I started to think about how important it is to help kids see the value of taking care of the home they live in. I think most of us would agree that kids should do chores at home. How do we as parents get them to begin helping around the house...in other words, doing household chores?

Training your kids to help around the house has a couple of big benefits. Obviously, it teaches them to be strong, responsible adults who can take care of themselves. More importantly, learning to clean the bathroom, pick up their toys, etc. teaches them that they are part of something bigger than just themselves--a family--and that doing basic household chores is a big way to honor and care for each another. 

In the years we've raised our 5 adult kids, we've learned some tips about helping kids do chores at home that I wanted to share today with you. 

Here are 3 tips for train...

Would you like to help your elementary children draw a quick art project? Have you seen your children draw a house? Perhaps they have drawn your house, or maybe a house from a story, or maybe a house they are imagining. I love seeing kids draw houses. Here are two drawings given to me by children years ago, to welcome us as we moved into our new home. I have kept these drawings for 20+ years, because they remind me of how these sweet children were helping us celebrate our new home 20 years ago!

There are some fun picture books out there for elementary kids about houses that will foster your kids' curiosity and creativity. Reading picture books is a great jumping off point to get kids drawing all kinds of homes. Here is the list:  
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Here are 3 of my favorites to get you started: (Amazon links)

1. If I Built a House by Chris VanDusen

2. Home by Carson Ellis

3. Let's Go Home: The Wonderful Things about a House by Cynthia Rylant and Wendy Anderson Halperin

Recently I sa...

At Storygalorey class yesterday, one bright young artist told me she was working on her new artwork for an art sale she was going to hold in the future. She had sold some of her art last summer and made some money to help buy something for her pet. Fueled by that success, she was ready to create more artwork to have another sale next summer. Sometimes we all need a little encouragement to keep on creating. Sometimes “writer’s block” happens to all creators. Maybe your kids don't want to sell their art, but wouldn’t it be fun to encourage them to enter a drawing or painting contest? 

So why in the world should you take the time and trouble to encourage your kids to create art for a contest? 

First of all, entering an art contest can build confidence.

Whether your children win or not, to have bravely created, entered, and possibly viewed their art on display, is a huge confidence building block. It gives them courage to try something else next time, and to know they did their best reg...

When the weather outside is frightful, drawing and reading is so delightful! And what better subject to draw than a polar bear! Polar bears never fail to fascinate, with their size, power, and ability to survive and thrive in bitter cold climates. So let's explore reading about and drawing polar bears today.

First, I'd love to tell you about two of my favorite picture books. Gail Gibbons, a favorite author of non-fiction for kids, has a good book called Polar Bears which I have in my collection. It's fun for kids and adults to learn all the interesting facts about these animals. 

Chitra Soundar and Poonam Mistry wrote and illustrated a lovely book called You're Snug With Me, which has unusual and beautiful illustrations that you and your kids will want to examine closely. This book is written poetically as if a mother polar bear is talking to her two cubs. 

Are you ready to try drawing polar bears? Get some paper and your favorite marking tools--crayons, colored pencils, or mark...

When young kids are home in the days before Christmas, they get restless. There is so much excitement going on, and so much (for you!) to do, sometimes it helps to direct their attention to a simple drawing activity they can work on while you are doing what you need to do, nearby. Today I'm going to show you how to help your kids draw a simple angel using 3 shapes. Kids as young as 4 years old can do this. I know this because I used to draw these over and over again on the bulletin at church while my dad was preaching and I was supposed to be quiet during the sermon. Some of my earliest memories are sitting, squirming on the pew, with the little pencil and paper in my hand, drawing angels.

Because small children are just learning to hold and control a coloring tool, repetition is key. Let them have a crayon and practice over and over again on a large piece of paper.

Here's how to draw a simple angel using just 3 shapes. All you need are some crayons and several pieces of white paper....

Sometimes this time of year you are looking for ways to keep kids interested in giving to others, in showing love in the spirit of the season. It is all too easy for any of us, but especially for kids, to think that Christmas is all about what they get on Christmas Day. When you spend time showing them a creative way to brighten someone else's day, there is no need to say anything-they should be automatically motivated to give something away. That's a win-win, because they had fun creating something, and they will bring joy to whoever receives their homemade Christmas card. Plus, they made a fun memory doing something artistic.

Here is an idea for making Christmas cards that is fun to make and fun to give: the ever-popular pop-up Christmas card! 

Making a pop-up card isn't hard. All you need are a few simple supplies: (These are Amazon Associate links-no extra cost to you, just helpful to support Storygalorey-thank you!)

• scrap pieces of colored and white paper
• 2 pieces of constru...

This is a great time of year to help kids show love to others and to help them be creative! Why not combine the two by making homemade Christmas cards? These will encourage their creativity and their generosity as they make and give cards to neighbors, grandparents, teachers, or friends who are far away. They could even make cards and gift them to a nearby homeless shelter or retirement community. Here is a simple way to make a Christmas card with children. It takes simple materials, which you probably have at home.  If your child can color and cut paper, she can make this card!  For this Christmas card, you will need: (These are Amazon Associate links)

• oil pastels
• 2 pieces of construction paper, any colors
• scissors 
• glue, gluestick, or double sided tape
• hole punch

Here are the steps, or you can watch the 7 min. video to see exactly how I did it. 

1. Fold both  pieces of construction paper in half.

2. Draw half a Christmas tree shape on the fold of one of the  papers.

3. C...

I'm sure as a parent or grandparent, you've asked yourself this question: How can I make Christmas more meaningful? I think one of the answers is that you start a few weeks in advance with a preparation time called Advent.  

This can be a stressful time of year, but also one of the most important and impactful times for you, as the parent or grandparent, to make really great and meaningful memories with your children. Today I want to share some ideas to help you do that. 

Advent is a season of preparation for Christmas happening the four Sundays before Christmas. Some people have never heard of Advent, so if you don't mind, I'm going to share my tradition with you. 

In my family growing up, among other decorations for Christmas, out would come our old advent wreath. This was just a simple metal ring with 4 candle holders covered with red berries and some fake evergreens. My mom liked everything in her home to look lovely and coordinated, which meant she used 4 red candles around the...

Have you ever been at a place, say, the airport, and it was just fun to watch people? It is fun to look at all the faces of all the travelers...every one of them completely unique. Have your kids ever wanted help drawing a human face? Today I will give you a simple demonstration on how to draw a face.

 "Decades of scientific research shows that faces are of particular importance even to newborn babies. In the first several hours after birth, a baby can recognize her mother’s face and distinguish that face from strangers...Clearly, faces are an important factor in infant development," says  Kaitlyn Torrez, on the blog KeaBabies.  We are born with a fascination with faces. This is evident to us every time we interact with our new grandbaby--look at his preferential gaze to his mama!

And many children love to draw faces. I often incorporate some type of portrait drawing in Storygalorey classes. I like to give kids lots of practice drawing the proportions of the human face. In the last...