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As a child I loved arts and crafts. I have fond memories of pulling out the white rug with splashes of paint and strips of dried hot glue and then pulling out my arts and craft tote to start creating whatever my mind could imagine and my supplies could create. This memory is what started me down the path to make an arts and crafts station at home for my girls.
As a mom I wanted to instill the value of creativity and creation into my girls as well. So once I felt like they were old enough, it was time to set up their own arts and crafts tote. I grabbed a tote that we already had and filled it with recycled containers and added craft supplies.
Make The Arts & Craft Station Self-Serve
I originally had the arts and craft station in a place that I would need to get it down for them. I felt like I wanted to monitor the access that they had and make sure no big messes happened. But they were asking to have the tote out all the time. Quickly the tote got moved to a location where they could get it out without my support.
The next struggle was that supplies would be left all over the floor and strung out everywhere. The mess created frustration and overwhelmed me. I wanted to find a solution so that the girls could access the arts and crafts supplies on their own, but were able to keep it organized and cleaned up appropriately when they were complete.
About this time I was reading the book Tinkerlab by Rachelle Doorley from TinkerLab.com. This book was a game changer for us. I honestly feel like because I read that book the course of my girls’ life took a path that will forever impact their lives in a positive way. If you were wanting to adventure into a more creative environment for your children I highly recommend this book. She encourages that age appropriate supplies are readily available so that your children can use their imagination and create whenever they would like. The book lays out how to set up a self-serve art station along with many ideas that use a vast variety mediums.
Tinkerlabs helped guide us to making what we now call our “Creation Station”. This is a self-serve art and arts and craft designated area in our home. I added a shelf to a wooden bench that we already had. We recycled containers to create places to put our supplies. A kid’s size table was ordered. And the result was their imagination and creations started to explode even more.
Create A Self-Governed Arts & Crafts Station
The next challenge that we ran into was their creations were everywhere. The table was overflowing, drawers could not shut, and there art projects were all over the house. They loved it! However this mama does not like clutter!
This is when I decided to introduce a three drawer Rubbermaid container. Both girls had one drawer and the third drawer was for things that they were working on together. When they were done working on something at the table, extra supplies went back to the Creation Station, anything still drying stayed at the table, and things that were complete were to go in their designated drawer. Once their drawer was full they would then need to self-govern what they were going to do with their creations.
This process did take a little bit of training but it has worked out well for us. When their drawer is full we lay out all their creations and take a picture with them. If it’s something special we save it to be put into our art book.
They can then decide to trash projects or take them apart to recycle (back to our creation station or the actual recycling) parts of a project. Or they can choose to gift their art to somebody who would be blessed by it. This was a way that they could self-govern how much space their projects were taking up.
Our arrangement has sense changed from the below picture. Now we have a kid size table under the window with two chairs. The tote is at the right side of the table where the drawers face out for easy access. And the bench is up against the left wall where they can assess supplies. It’s been this way for awhile now and is a really good fit for us!
Set Up Cleaning Tools For The Arts & Craft Station
The last thing that has made a huge difference in our Creation Station is having it set up so they can clean it on their own. We have small handheld brooms and a held hand held vacuum to clean scraps and glitter and they also know how to use rags to clean up the table after glue and paint. Teaching them how to take care of the space was vital for me so that it didn’t just add another space for me to clean. Because let’s be real, creating is a ton of fun but after the creating there’s cleaning that has to be done.
I regularly change out the supplies which always sparks new thoughts and different projects. You would be amazed at the things you can put in there that they will be excited about. It goes well beyond just the traditional art supplies. (Would love an added line about what unconventional items have been useful, something like, “Items like rocks, toilet paper rolls, and even an old pair of socks!”) Having a self-serve arts and crafts station has made all the difference in the girls continually being creative!
Leave me a comment letting me know what your initial thoughts are on having a self-serve arts and craft station.
Until Next Time- Truly Love,
Cassie
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