We generally know there are a lot of free resources and ideas for kids activities online. But sifting through hundreds of different sites to make sure the art projects are fun and engaging can be really time consuming for parents. The activities for kids also need to be age appropriate.
If you have school age kids who really need some indoor activities at home that are artistic and creative, then we have some sites for you to try out!
Also check out some other indoor kids activities:
Building and design activities to keep kids busy for hours!
Design t-shirts with the kids!
It may seem like its just more screen time, but I see these art tutorials as a source of inspiration for kids!
Check out these amazing posts about screen time for kids:
How to Make Screen Time for Kids Beneficial
Can Kids Self-Regulate Their Screen Time and Build Healthy Screen Habits?
Crafting, sculpting, painting and drawing; by following along with different video tutorials, kids might discover that creating art is not only fun but can also be a relaxing activity.
For busy moms, we feel like activities at home should really be:
1. budget friendly – using supplies that can already be found at home or are inexpensive and easy to find like at the local dollar store.
2. little or no prep work for activities and minimal clean up
3. independent – kids can follow along and work on these creative projects on their own for the most part.
Fun Art Activities for Kids Online
1. Art for Kids Hub
This family friendly Youtube channel and blog is perfect for kids to learn how to draw, paint, learn origami and create holiday themed works of art.
What I really love about Art for Kids Hub is that the father of the family who is the artist always has at least one of his kids in the video with him. He gives the same art lesson to his kids that he does to all of the viewers.
Having his own kids beside him also allows him to cater his drawing projects to kids in the same age range as his own children. So for his youngest, he teaches kids in the pre-school level how to draw easy but fun pictures appropriate for that age.
They do have to pause the video after some steps, but that is generally what they need to do for any learn to draw video.
Check out how you can use the kids drawings to make a puzzle!
2. Draw So Cute
The artist’s name is Wennie and she draws very cute dolls, kids, animals and objects with cute faces!
What I like about these videos is that the artist really takes her time and actually says what she plans to do before her next move. This reduces that need to continuously have to pause the video to have to catch up.
Wennie also has free coloring pages and craft ideas on her site.
One thing about her subject and the way they look is that her drawings might be more attractive to girls to want to draw and less for boys.
But she is right, the characters she makes are really oh so cute!
3. 123 Easy Paper Crafts
Other than paper of course, Kids will need a few more supplies but many of them are basic household items like scissors, pencil, ruler and paper clips. The only extra item I noticed was a utility knife. I’m sure you could make do with the supplies you have.
With a good mix of origami and regular cutting and folding techniques, kids can turn regular construction paper into something amazing while keeping themselves busy and entertained.
I do think it would have been good for them to separate the crafts by level of difficulty. Even though its called easy crafts, some are definitely more intricate than others.
4. Red Ted Art
Red Ted Art has a blog and Youtube video tutorials. There are also free printables on the blog which is great.
This site provides a variety of different kinds of art projects. For example there are different activities making salt dough art. With only a few ingredients required, it still makes them relatively low maintenance projects and gives kids a chance to try making different things.
5. Art Projects for Kids
This site provides step by step drawing tutorials for kids, but it is laid out differently. There are several categories for drawing options – including animals, food and different landscapes to name a few.
Each picture is broken up into 6 or more steps to follow, with faint gridlines to help give kids an idea of spacing when attempting to draw pictures.
There are also many free printable pages of characters and animals that that kids would love to color.
In addition to all this, there is also an art history section for kids to learn more about art in an interesting way.
6. Createful Kids
This is another site that has tutorials for not just drawing but also painting, sculpting with clay and some art history as well. In effort to make discussing the life and art of famous artists, she sits with her kids and teaches children in a nice conversational tone.
Her step-by-step landscape drawing is a popular video tutorial.
She does have some materials that will might need to be purchased like oil pastels, watercolor paper and brushes etc., possibly at an art supply store.
7. Art Bar
This blog has a ton of different craft ideas, many of which are made using items found at home and items that were going to be recycled.
This site also has seasonal as well as birthday party craft ideas.
Already had too much screen time? Check out these paper activities you can do with kids!
8. Mr. Printables
Stock up on printer ink for this site! Have fun with printable crafts of all kinds that will help kids learn, have fun and celebrate different holidays with related crafts ideas.
9. Muffalo Potato
I love how the artist teaches kids to draw by starting with basic shapes and turning it into an amazing picture!
Definitely reminds me of the days when I used to watch Mr. Dressup (for any Canadians out there!) draw at his desk like that!
Muffalo Potato is a likeable character and the kids will love following along with him and his puppet friends.
10. Babble Dabble Do
I love this site and the name! Not only does she have many simple art projects for kids, she also has projects related to engineering and science activities. There’s a wide variety of ideas to help keep the kids busy and entertained.
11. Tinkerlab
There are some really good learning activities related to STEAM and science on this site as well as other interesting art projects.
Not only that, but there are some really great organization tips for parents who struggle to appreciate their kids love of art with trying to organize the clutter associated with it! We’re not talking just the projects themselves, but also the glitter, glue, crayons, tissue-paper, googly eye…you name it!
Walk talk about repurpose and declutter kids artwork here!
12. Artful Parent
Painting, drawing, sculpting, printmaking and even baking and cooking recipes for kids! This site seems to have it all.
I love the homemade art materials for kids section. They are easy to make with just a few ingredients and will save parents time looking for supplies and money!
13. Buggy and Buddy
There are many different craft and art projects ideas here, including several ideas for almost any occasion you can think of!
There are also art projects inspired by some of our favorite children’s books! This is something I haven’t seen on another site in my search.
The free printables are great as well!
14. Pink Stripey Socks
This site separates craft ideas for kids by pre-school and elementary school age. Lots of different crafts to choose from and I love how they say there are no special or fancy material needed!
There’s also a lot of STEAM activities to choose from as well.
This site will keep kids busy with projects for a long time!
15. Fun at Home with Kids
Although there are many sections that appear to be for Preschoolers, the category imaginitive play has some fun looking art projects for elementary school aged kids as well.
We hope these activities and crafts for kids inspire your children to love and create their own art!