I was lucky to grow up in an art loving family and be exposed to different forms of art: painting, tapestry, sculpture, classical music, theater. I don’t remember my parents doing something special to guide me artistically but their passion was enough to generate interest and curiosity in me: What’s the name of the artist? What else did he create? What inspired him? In time I found myself doing things I’d seen my folks do: listen to classical music, buy art albums, read painters’ biographies…
Now that I have my own kids, it’s easy for me to see how parents’ interests, hobbies and passions can shape the little ones. My preschooler seems fascinated by classical music and painting, so my husband and I do our best to encourage him . We go to family concerts whenever we have a chance and play music at home and in the car. He loves the Beethoven’s Wig series.
As for encouraging an interest in painting the Art Kit is a wonderful instrument. This monthly subscription for kids goes beyond creating the opportunity for your little ones to express themselves through color, though it does provide high quality painting supplies, like Natural Earth paints. Each box focuses on one particular artist and his painting technique. Kids will be taken behind the scenes of what being a painter means and learn about various artists, what makes them unique and how painting involves more than just talent. It also requires a lot of work and determination. Did you know, for instance, that it took 2 years to Georges Seurat to finish his greatest masterpiece: A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte?
I know that because our kit centered around Georges Seurat and Pointillism. I’m telling you, the Art Kit is a great resource for both kids and parents. If you’re not familiar with painting and painters, that’s fine, you’ll discover interesting facts along with your kids. If you are a connoisseur, you’ll appreciate all the materials put together to introduce kids in a fun way to this beautiful form of art.
Our box included a puzzle (the painting A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte ), eco-friendly paint powders, painting tools, painting paper, Make a Masterpiece Sticker Activity Book (for recreating the A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte painting), circle stickers ( to create your own pointillism masterpiece out of stickers) and a book about Georges Seurat.
My kids are too young to appreciate a beautiful packaging but I couldn’t but stop and admire the purple tissue paper and bi-colored shredded paper and detailed labeling of each individually wrapped item, even if only for just a few seconds, before my boys got their hands busy. Opening every paper bag built up their excitement and I could hardly keep up with explanations about all the materials. The presentation of the kit has the WOW effect which makes it a perfect gift for birthdays or Christmas.
My boys started with painting. We mixed the paint powders with water and got all the painting tools out on the table. They painted alongside for about an hour and they did it nicely, without fighting, because they each had their own materials. That’s another thing I like about this kit, you can also get a sibling add on. This means you’ll receive an extra set of painting tools: paper, brushes and colors. How clever is that?! No more fighting, just busy painting!
My preschooler also enjoyed doing the puzzle and recreating Seurat’s painting with stickers. The book is for older kids but we still went through it and looked at the pictures. He was happy to discover the painting Invitation to the Sideshow which he recognized from the cover of the book Can you hear it? I love when my kids make such connections between things they see and learn from different sources. When the boys watched an episode from Little Einsteins based on Seurat’s painting View of Le Crotoy I used this opportunity to point out the name of the artist.
We’re planning a trip to Chicago next month and The Institute of Art is on our list of places to visit because this is where we’ll be able to admire A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. What a treat to be able to see the original painting after learning so much about it through the Art Kit!
I received a complimentary Art Kit in exchange for my honest review.
My Bored Toddler
Thursday 27th of August 2015
This looks like a great way to get the kids to be creative!
Orana
Thursday 20th of August 2015
I love non toy gifts! Therefore the finding of your sight has been quite a pleasure! My parents have always given art supplies as gifts to all the birthday parties I went as a kid and I do the same for my kids' friends. Now off to see if The Art Kit can make it all the way to Indonesia! #paintedteacup
Ashley Mullen
Wednesday 19th of August 2015
This is pretty cool, I'll have to check it out for my kiddos. I love subscription boxes.
Let kids be kids
Wednesday 19th of August 2015
That's a lovely idea to encourage art and good to get extra in the pack for siblings too. Thanks for linking #LetKidsBeKids
Emma
Tuesday 18th of August 2015
I love crafty gifts like this! Looks like they had fun with it!