Art Kits

Last Christmas the kids' gramma gave them each a decopauged shoebox filled with art supplies. We've long had a well-stocked closet of miscellaneous arts and crafts, but this provided a unique twist in that it gave A & E a smaller, manageable set of things just for them, to pull out whenever they felt inspired. I really liked the kid-directed nature of it, and so did they. Over the past year, the shoeboxes saw a fair amount of wear and tear, so we upgraded to some sturdier plastic boxes. Both kids have enjoyed creating lots of projects, and it has also given them a place to stash all kinds of treasures that they find and might eventually want to incorporate into a creative venture - bits of fabric and ribbon and feathers and so forth.

Naturally, though, the kits have slowly expanded to overflowing and it can be impossible to find a particular sticker or marker without dumping the entire thing on the floor. So today A said, "Mom, I think we should probably organize our art kits." A girl after my own heart! Organize? Organize art supplies? Sounds right up my alley. We spread the contents out all over A & E's room and had a grand old time sorting materials into smaller bags and containers, trading treasures, and restocking with some art supplies our friends gave the kids for Christmas. It was a productive afternoon - and as I anticipated, organizing the art kits produced some serious inspiration as the kids discovered materials they'd forgotten they had! They both spent the rest of the afternoon engaged in various independent creative projects.

We're headed to see a family theater production downtown this evening - it should be a great way to kick off our week+ of vacation together!