Art is an important part of a child’s education; exploring art can spark a child’s creativity and foster a passion that will last a lifetime. Thomas Merton once said, “art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” This is especially true for young artists. An art room should be a safe and familiar place where young artists can explore their creativity and lose themselves in their art. A welcoming and engaging environment, led by a teacher is entrusted with the responsibility of nurturing and helping each child to grow and develop their artistic skills, allows students to explore and experiment with color, shape, and textures, and form to gain a better understanding of what art really is about; self-expression,. The following resources and activities will help your young artist to grow and develop their artistic skills and build a lasting appreciation for the arts.
Art for Kids
- NGA Kids – The National Gallery of Art’s Art Zone has creative and artistic games for learners of all ages.
- MOWA Kids – The Museum of Web Art offers educational art activities for younger children.
- Picassohead – Explore your creativity, make your own Picasso-inspired work of art.
- Coloring and Drawing Activities – Practice drawing skills with these simple activities for young artists.
- Lizzy Visits the Sculpture Garden – Go along with Lizzy to visit this virtual sculpture garden.
- Great Buildings Collection – Architecture is an important part of the art world, and art education; use this website to broaden your knowledge of great architecture.
- World Art Resources – Art education resources from different regions around the world.
- The Imagination Factory – and award-winning art education site, including art lessons, resources, and teaching materials.
- Artcyclopedia – An all-inclusive art encyclopedia; find information about individual artists, art movements, techniques, and vocabulary.
- Art Games – Educational and artistic games for kids ages four to twelve.
- The Art Detective – An interactive art mystery game for kids.
- World Art Treasures – Explore different artwork from around the world with virtual tour.
- Inside Art – A virtual tour through impressionist art.
- Art Dictionary – A directory of art vocabulary and terminology with in-depth detail.
- Coloring – Color Projects that can be colored on the computer, or printed out.
- Crayola – The Official Crayola website offers fun, art-based activities for kids.
- Shapes Coloring Pages – A simple art activity for young children to help practice and recognize shapes.
- Kaleidoscope Art – An interactive Kaleidoscope art activity.
- The Color – Coloring and act activities for young artists.
- Behind the Art – Learn about how art is created and different art concepts.
Teaching Resources
- Arts & Crafts Links – Projects and fun art activities for different age groups and skill levels.
- Art Recipes – Easy recipes for fun art projects, including peanut butter play dough and homemade crayons.
- What is Art? – A simple lesson for young artists to get a better understanding of what art is.
- Art Projects for Kids – Incorporate fun and dynamic art lessons into your elementary art class, includes drawing, painting, and general art lessons and activities
- Model Art Curricula – Links to examples of art class plans and standards from many different schools.
- Museum of Children’s Art – Encourage children’s creativity with this website dedicated to art appreciation and exploration.
- Achieves of American Art – Art education resources from the Smithsonian Institute.
- Art Junction – Art education resources for teachers and K12 art students.
- NaeA – The National Art Education Association offers art information, resources, and tool for art educators and teachers.
- Art Teacher Resources – Art resources for teachers working with younger age groups, including printable projects, seasonal art, and art lessons.
Artist Resources
- Famous Artists – Short artist biographies and examples of the artist’s work.
- Artist Quotes – A collection of quotes from famous artists.
- The Impressionists – Biographical and art information on some of the world’s greatest impressionist artists.
- Virtual Met Tour – Take a virtual tour of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and explore the beautiful and unique art collections at The Met
- Web Gallery of Art – Take a virtual tour of with this online art gallery.