Art with Toddlers: How We Do It
I am inspired by both Montessori and Charlotte Mason education methods/philosophies in the ways I teach and play with Elliot, so I have a mash-up of both for my approach to art as well. From the time Elliot was around 15-months old, we followed more of the Montessori approach to art and have added a very simplified version of Charlotte Mason artist study once Elliot turned two.
Here’s what it looks like from a Montessori perspective:
We focus on the process, not the final product. Pinterest is brimming with picture-perfect toddler and preschool crafts that would make you the envy of the playground mama group, but what it typically entails is A) a ton of prep work on your part and B) a ton of your own involvement in your child’s art, so it could look like the desired finished product. There’s a time and place for cute projects like this, but what I try to do more often is called process art. Just as the name implies, this art is all about the process rather than the result. You as the parent don’t have a finished product in mind; it’s really just about exploration, fun, connection, and developing an interest in creativity through different modes of art.
What does process art look like? Using a variety of different tools and materials to create art. Along with a variety of paint brushes, Elliot has used feathers, q-tips, toothpicks, sponges, and even broccoli to paint! It’s a great fine motor activity and pre-writing practice to experience painting, drawing, or just moving the hand with different materials. Regular white paper works great, but you can also experiment with aluminum foil, or go with a classic: chalk on a sidewalk. And don't just stick with crayons, try different types of paint, and craft supplies like stickers. I found foam angels around Christmastime and we practiced gluing and using glitter glue to make angels as gifts for family and friends.
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| Angels with foam stickers, glitter glue, dot markers, and other art supplies |
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| Broccoli worked great to paint an autumn tree last fall |
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| We found a huge leaf during a nature walk, so we decided to paint it! |
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| Sponge brush to paint the ocean as we read Swimmy. Blue, white, and black paint to create different shades of blue as we talked about "light and dark" |
Here are a few ways that Montessori teachers and parents teach (process) art to young children and how I have adopted this into our home:
- Montessori art typically focuses on unstructured creativity, so coloring books are avoided, and rather, blank paper is used. As mentioned above, I’m not a purist Montessori mama, so I don’t mind balancing a lot of unstructured process art with coloring books since Elliot loves his current two (Curious George and trucks). I let him color them however he wants.
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| During our Peter Rabbit week, he used watercolors to paint a Peter Rabbit coloring page |
- The Montessori approach to introducing colors is to start with either one or two colors rather than offering the whole palate. Elliot’s first painting experience at 15 months was with green tempera paint, either because he chose that color or because it was the first I grabbed from my art bin. But we moved on to the primary colors and then started mixing them when he was two. Scissors are also introduced in toddler years and can be used in art projects when supervised. I started with tempera paint first before trying out watercolor since it takes an additional step (adding water) that I felt would be easier once he grasped the idea of holding a brush and painting with paint that was ready-to-go (like tempera).
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| Elliot's first exposure to art at 15-months was a fun, messy sensory experience |
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| Color mixing in glass jars with food coloring |
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| Following along with the book Mouse Paint as he mixes colors |
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| To create our own versions of Matisse's cut paper artwork, he painted sheets during one session... |
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| ... then cut pieces of the dried painted cardstock another art session, and glued them on previously painted paper a different day. |
- Another aspect of Montessori art is to keep your lips zipped as you observe the child create. Try to avoid narrating their every brushstroke, guessing what they’re creating or constantly complimenting their work. I find this very hard since words of affirmation is my love language, but I see why it can be important. This allows them to concentrate and gives them the freedom to create without interruption or expectation for a specific outcome. They also won't rely on your opinion of their art, but feel proud of their own creativity. So, instead of saying something like “Are you drawing a car? Wow, you’re such a great artist! Why don’t you add a wheel down here?”, it may be more helpful to silently sit nearby, and if you want to say something, focus on occasional objective observations, like noticing what colors were used or asking the child what part they like the most about their own drawing. Again, I’m not a purist, so the Montessori approach to avoiding complimenting because of the concern that it’ll create “praise junkies” who depend on external motivation (“You did it!”) rather than internal motivation (“I did it!”), makes sense to me, but I still sprinkle in some praise as well. I’ll say something like “You are using a green crayon to draw a long line. What part makes you happy about your drawing? Oh, I like that part too!”. If I want to add in a “good job!”, I try to be specific about a certain aspect of the art.
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| I quietly held the paint plate while he painted. I later removed the painter's tape to reveal white areas with his name and star shapes. We used it as a tool to practice spelling his name and now it hangs in his room. |
- Montessori parents (and many non-Montessori parents too!) typically like to have an art cart set up somewhere available to a child as young as a toddler with age-appropriate art materials they can independently grab. I have a limited supply available to Elliot (dot markers, crayons, color pencils, paper, coloring books, stickers) that he can reach near his little table. His coloring books and blank paper is also is available to him all day in his cart. I keep the more messy supplies (paint, glue, scissors) in a big plastic bin that is in his closet. He also has a chalk board, chalk, and a dish towel always available in his play area. This allows spontaneous art sessions during his independent play. While a limited selection of art supplies are readily available for Elliot to grab independently, this has only been more recent as he reached 2.5 years old and can be trusted with free access to art supplies. I will present the art session by showing him the supplies and giving him freedom to create whatever he wants within the boundary/limit I set beforehand. When I started around 15-months old, I supervised every art session and kindly but firmly set a few rules, such as: “Art stays on the paper. If the table/chairs get painted, we are all done today”. Sure enough, he’d eventually start painting his table (which is washable, so it’s not a big deal), so I’d give him a few warnings (“Art stays on the paper. We will be all done if you keep painting on the table”) or offer a different option “it looks like you’re done with the paper. You can paint your hands and then we’ll go to the sink and wash up.”
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| Elliot's art cart is snugly placed by his breakfast/activity table, where he has access to the top two shelves of art supplies. |
- Montessori parents and teachers like to use chunkier crayons and coloring pencils initially for little hands to grasp, then eventually graduating to conventional crayons, preferring natural materials like beeswax crayons. But those are expensive and I already had normal crayons and coloring pencils, so that’s what we have used and it’s been just fine. I don't have any specific brands; I buy inexpensive art supplies marketed as non-toxic and washable. I will include some of my favorites below.
- Alongside physically creating art, the Montessori method also encourages exposing children to high-quality, reality-focused (photographs or realistic paintings as opposed to imaginary/fantastical) artwork securely hanging at eye-level of the child, such as in a bedroom and playroom. This exposure to art encourages appreciation of beauty for even the youngest child. I've followed this in some ways. While we do have some imaginary artwork (Peter Rabbit watercolor book pages and Narnia), I also have more realistic landscape artwork, such as my Monet and Renoir postcards at his eye level. And then we have been focusing on three artists, which I will discuss below, who all painted realistic landscapes. And the art picture books we have read the last year have also exposed him to reality-focused art as well.
- Art is a great sensory experience as well as a great way to practice fine-motor skills. Gluing, cutting, and just squishing paint between fingers is all part of the fun! This means it might get a little messy (which I will address later), but I think it's worth it. But it also means trying to let them try to do as much of it as they can without your help. I will explain in few words how to use the glue or specific paint brush, for example, and then let him explore and learn on his own as well. If he is having trouble figuring it out or is in any danger of hurting himself (like with scissors), I gentle re-direct and repeat a few instructions, then let him try again on his own.
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| Using a glue stick to paint pre-cut fish on his painted blue page while reading The Pout-Pout Fish |
- Both Montessori and Charlotte Mason methods encourage time outside in nature, so we enjoy taking our art outside when the weather is nice. Sidewalk chalk is also a great way to create art while outside.
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| Using a craft feather to paint during our bird-themed week. |
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| Painting a coloring page from The Jesus Storybook Bible coloring book during Easter week |
Dealing with the mess:
- I love toddler-sized smocks. Whenever the paint comes out, Elliot knows the art smock is also coming out so we can protect his clothes. As he's grown, we have painted without the smock since he can keep it off his clothes, but we still try to make a habit of using it just in case.
- I only use washable arts supplies. Anything marketed towards children typically mentions it being washable and non-toxic, but I check the reviews (especially on Amazon) prior to purchasing specific art supplies to make sure parents agree with the brand’s washable claim. This, along with using an art smock, makes me less worried about a little paint getting on his clothes.
- Depending on the level of mess (and if it would cause more of a mess), I sometimes involve Elliot in some of the cleanup, but more often, I let him wash his hands in the bathroom while I quickly clean up. I usually keep the art area contained to one table and have a wash rag available for quick clean-up as we go (to wipe very messy fingers or a spill, for instance), so the clean-up at the end has never been very long.
- I use painter's tape to tape the paper onto the table. This prevents the paper slipping around (which can cause a mess), but also creates clearly-defined boundaries for the painting ("stay inside the blue tape").
- I give kind but firm ground rules before starting our art session which includes that the art stays in the designated area. If it starts to get too messy, art time is over. I am very clear about where the contained area is (typically the paper). Decide ahead of time what level of mess you are comfortable with and let that be clear in your ground rules before starting. For example, I am okay with Elliot painting his hands at the end of his painting time since we walk straight to the bathroom sink afterwards, so it doesn't make a mess.
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| Elliot's first painting session at 15-months got a little messy and he tried tasting it (first and last time!) |
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| Art is very much a sensory experience for Elliot, who typically concludes his painting time by painting his hands |
The Charlotte Mason approach to an artist study:
Now that I’ve explained how I’ve been inspired by the Montessori approach to art, I want to switch gears and share the next step in our art exploration, which doesn’t replace, but enhances, his art time previously discussed. This includes a very introductory level of artist study using the Charlotte Mason approach. In a typical Charlotte Mason-focused homeschool grade school home, an artist study would include extensive study of three artists during the course of a school year, separated by terms so there’s one artist studied at a time. The art study would include reading “living books” (non-textbooks that are informative, beautifully illustrated, and focus on storytelling rather than dry facts to learn about a person or time period) to learn about the artist, observing one masterpiece at a time and explaining what they see and like about the artwork, and then creating their own rendition of the artwork. For example, a week’s study on Claude Monet could include reading a picture book about his life, observing and talking about his famous Water Lilies painting, and then pulling out watercolors to create their own version of this painting. It’s a gentle exploration of an artist and their work. I’ve scaled this down to a preschool level with the help of The Gentle and Classical Preschool’s Art and Music Guide in their updated preschool curriculum, which we have used since August. Her abbreviated version of a preschool approach to the Charlotte Mason art study was a huge inspiration for me, and I had the freedom to change a few things to better suit my interests (I substituted Monet for Da Vinci, I kept Matisse and Van Gogh but I replaced the included artwork for postcards I collected from museums I’ve visited since they felt more special to us).
Here is what a Charlotte Mason-inspired art study looks like in our home:
- As mentioned, we explored three artists this first year of our homeschool preschool. We started with Van Gogh for the first term (around two months), then Matisse, and finally we are finishing up with my favorite artist, Monet.
- We tried doing an art study session every other week, alternating with a music study (Peter and the Wolf), also part of the Gentle and Classical Curriculum. Some weeks we skipped it because it was a busy week (such as around the holidays), someone was sick, or we were on vacation. We’d save the art and music studies for Tuesday Tea Time, our special after-nap snack time. I’d steep some tea, prepare a snack, then we’d read an age-appropriate picture book about the specific artist. I’ll mention my favorites for toddlers and preschoolers. Elliot will recognize artwork we’ve explored in his picture books as well as in random areas, like artwork on a friend’s wall, so I am very impressed with these picture books and how they have helped make it fun to learn about artists and their art.
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| Reading In the Garden with Van Gogh during Tuesday Tea Time last fall |
- After our picture book, I would turn our attention to the specific postcard artwork I chose for that week’s art study. Artwork can easily be found online for free and printed. I have visited some amazing museums in London, Paris, and NYC, and bought postcard renditions of my favorite artwork from those museums, never knowing that a decade later, I would use them with my toddler! I display the artwork during tea time but also have the same postcard displayed where he can easily see it all week as well on his memory statement board at his little table. Some simple questions I’ll ask Elliot as we look at the painting: What colors do you see? Are the colors light or dark? Can you find any shadows? Does this look like a happy or sad picture? Any facial expressions he can mimic? What does it make you feel? What’s your favorite part of this painting? I don't ask all these questions; just a couple of them, depending on the artwork.
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| We noticed colors together in Wheat Field With Cypresses (Van Gogh) |
- After we’ve read a picture book and talked about one art piece by that artist, I’ll give him some art supplies and we’ll create something inspired by an aspect of the artwork. This is where I combine Montessori with Charlotte Mason. Rather than a fully free-flowing art session as described above in the Montessori section, which we have at other times during the week, this is a balance between process art and a tiny bit of structure. For example, I don’t expect Elliot to recreate a Van Gogh, but instead, after admiring The Starry Night, I had Elliot aluminum foil as “paper”, q-tips for “paint brushes”, and washable paint (blue, white, and yellow to mimic the colors in The Starry Night). With The Starry Night displayed nearby, I pointed to the swirly pattern of the night sky and demonstrated how to paint a swirl, then encouraged him to try if he wanted. He tried a few times, then proceeded to experiment in his own way, which was encouraged. His final product looked nothing like The Starry Night, BUT it was inspired by a few components of the masterpiece (foil was a night sky, the colors used were the same, the introduction of a swirl). I didn’t expect the final product to look a certain way, but rather focused on the process of mixing colors (he mixed white and blue to create a light blue to contrast the darker blue), learning a new shape (swirl, which was somewhat familiar since he likes circles). We had a blast and he recognizes The Starry Night now because of our time exploring it.
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| Q-tips and aluminum foil to paint his own version of Starry Night |
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| We mixed yellow and blue to make green (colors in Wheat Field With Cypresses painting), then he painted Thank You cards |
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| We used dot markers for the stem and painted petals from a previous art session to create our own sunflower, inspired by both Eric Carle and Van Gogh |
Here are some resources if this looks like something that you'd like to try out!
Favorite picture books about art/artists:
James Mayhew's picture books are our favorites. Fun stories with the same character and a magical exploration of masterpieces. Our favorites are Katie and the Starry Night (explores several Van Gogh paintings) and Katie Meets the Impressionists (Monet, Renoir, Degas).
Monet's Cat by Lily Murray and Becky Cameron. Similar fun, magical story as Mayhew, but featuring a cat that hops into different Monet masterpieces. We love this one!
Infant and toddler art board books by Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober, specifically A Picnic with Monet, In the Garden with Van Gogh, Dancing with Degas, Sundays with Seurat, A Magical Day with Matisse, and Sharing with Renoir.
The Magical Garden of Claude Monet and Van Gogh and the Sunflowers, both by Laurence Anholt
Henri's Scissors by Jeanette Winter (about Henri Matisse's cut-out artwork from his elderly years)
The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse by Patricia MacLachlan and Hadley Hooper
Mouse Paint by Ellen Stool Walsh (a great book about mixing primary colors)
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Elle Alice