Art Supplies for little Kids: what to buy that's waterproof, easy and toddler friendly

Let’s get real: crafts with a toddler are not for the faint of heart. 

It’s chaotic. It’s messy. It’s stressful. 

But then you look back after the fact, when their little masterpiece is hanging up on the fridge and all you can do is smile.

Arts and crafts are incredibly important for early childhood development.

It helps develop fine motor skills, stimulates creativity, self expression, problem solving skills and helps their brain create new neural pathways that support their overall development and well being.

I’m an artist, and it took me a little while to find the right supplies for my kids that gave them the freedom to explore their creativity, but didn’t require me to be overly involved or make a gigantic mess.

Now at ages 3 and 5, my kids have their craft supplies readily available to pull out anytime they want. While I don’t love the constant little mess this creates, I want to always nurture their creativity. 

Here’s a list of what to get that’s washable, easy and completely toddler friendly. 

1. Protect your table: grab any placemat or craft mat (or grocery store paper bag!). I personally love the cloth craft mats that can also be used as a picnic blanket outside, under a high chair, or in a confined play area. Not only can these be used for a few different things, but they easily be thrown in the washer to clean. I’ve also used and liked the silicone mats because they stay in place better than the cloth mats do.

2. Mess Trays: for the younger toddlers, having a mess try is a great way to contain the mess a little more. These trays help their paper stay in a confined area and gives them space to plop down their paint soaked brush.

3. Washable paint: I stick with the tried and true Crayola - they make a great paint that’s budget friendly.  

4. Brush holder: you can use Mason Jars or this Paint Brush Basin that also has the paint palette tray and makes washing the brushes a little easier. I like this basin because it helps keep most of the thick paint from sticking to my kitchen sink when cleaning, because I currently don't have a utility sink.

5. Paint Palette Tray: nothing fancy here, grab the cheapest ones you can find like this round plastic palette. 

6. Paint brushes: kids will smash the brush straight in the middle, making the bristles go in every direction so don’t buy anything nice. Any 10-20 piece set that's no more than $10 is perfect. This 20 pcs set has different size brushes and is perfect for kids, or you can go with a thicker brush set. You can also have some fun with Sponge Roller Brushes.

7. For the younger toddlers, these dot markers are really fun and less of a mess.

8. Kid friendly scissors are great starting around age 3 to further develop their fine motor skills. To make it fun you can also grab a pack of decorative scissors with zig zags.

9. Paper: for painting you can grab any paper that’s waterproof. Crayola makes a good product that’s budget friendly like this. You can also grab drawing pads, sketch pads or a tabletop paper roll for kids to easily grab and get creative. 

10. Pipe cleaners are always fun and little to no mess.