Art Supplies

[mmschool]

So, what does a "normally" stocked art cabinet look like? I am afraid that we are not a normal household, we are military, which means, well, open paints and boxes of old magazines to cut up don't move well. As a result, I am finding with LHTH we don't have "normal" household supplies on hand. For the most part we are making do, but it means a lot of changing the activities. At this point my dd3 is not that invested in her projects, so she could care less if we are following the directions, but I am a little worried about it for future guides when she is older.

For example, this week we are on the red sea crossing art project which calls for tape, shiny art paper and watercolors. We have tape. Furthermore, we are 120 miles from normal Walmart or Target. (So if I went shopping at the local store I might find a couple of cheap watercolors, but definitely no art paper. I couldn't find an index card box for myself!) I admit, I understand why you have not chosen to have a supply list, and we have had stuff at least half the time for Bible or science activities. I like the options, because even if I don't have the options it gets me thinking along the right lines. However, I am getting frustrated that I have to fundamentally change assignments or the skill in use, because I just don't have anything on hand. For example, we haven't been practicing cutting for the number pages because I don't have any old magazines to cut up!

Our current art box includes: crayons (8), fingerpaints (4 colors), glue stick, scissors, masking tape, construction paper, a highlighter, Qtips (our only paintbrushes), and stickers. What would we have to add to that to bring it up to what a "normal" art cabinet looks like? I am not even really looking for specifics necessarily, but types of things that are helpful - paints? clay? when do kids start with colored pencils? what sorts of paper come up most? craft supplies? what do other people cut up for projects if they don't get a lot of magazines? white glue or rubber cement?

Lena
dd3 - LHTH
ds1

[christina101902]

Mom4Him shared this list with me when I started LHTH. I also had zero art supplies on hand. I hope this is what your lookin for
white paper/copy paper
construction paper (all colors)
crayons (we like Crayola- washable)
paint (tempera & fingerpaint & watercolors) & paint brushes
markers (washable) & a good permanent marker for mom
highlighter (if you want- my girls loved having their own)
scissors
o-cereal/dried beans/dried macaroni/dried spaghetti
stickers/stamps
marshmallows
tooth picks
yarn, ribbon
cotton balls
tin foil, waxed paper
magazines/catalogs/newspaper ads
glue (Elmer's & glue sticks)
soap (bar, liquid & powder detergent)
cooking oil/ chocolate syrup/ pudding/baby food
salt/ coffee grounds/ any spice
glitter
cotton swabs
clear container with lid
masking tape (LOTS) & clear tape too
sidewalk chalk
markers & marker boards
index cards
sticky notes
food coloring
napkin/ coffee filter/ paper towel
peanut butter, crackers & other snack items
bean bags or rolled up socks
popcorn/ seeds/rice/oatmeal/cornmeal
playdough
Also, a lot of toys were used for dramatic play, letter activities, etc. (toy cars, dolls/stuffed animals, blocks)- again all things you most likely have on hand or can find something to work just as well without even needing to plan ahead.
That's everything I can think of . Enjoy! You are going to love LHTH!! [/quote]

[mmschool]

Thanks! That does help. We were missing at least ten entire lines out of that list! No wonder we kept getting stuck.

Are you finding that the same types of supplies are useful for Little Hearts? Also, does anyone have ideas for cutting out pictures? We currently don't get (and don't keep - too heavy for the upcoming move) many magazines, the local paper is mostly military related, and we don't even really get very many catalogs in the mail. I suppose I could try to get myself on some more catalog mailing lists. Are there any catalogs that tend to have the right types of photos?

Lena
dd3 - LHTH
ds1

[krains]

Lena,

I don't have magazines either, so I just google images of what it is they need and have my son choose and I print it out. I'm not sure if that might be an option for you.

Kellie

[christina101902]

I went to a few yard sales and picked up old national geographics for .25 each. I would ask people in your church if they have 4-6 they could donate. I then went through and removed any inappropriate pics(say the South American woman with no top, or the wolf devouring a baby deer(although my daughter didnt need the animal pics removed she understands the food chain). Also googling the pic is just fine, it just prevents them from searching for what they need on their own. So far LHTH is just about what you need for LHFHG , Ill post that list when you are ready for it

[mmschool]

Unfortunately, when it comes to magazines everyone is in the same boat. We live in a neighborhood that is all military, go to church with all military, we live in a military outpost very far from the rest of civilization. As a result, everyone moved in within the last two year and is leaving in about the same time frame, so no garage sale I have every seen has had magazines. I did almost buy some books for about 10 cents each to cut up, but I decided that cutting any book was a terrible precedent to set. I might try the google idea. I would still be open to any suggestions for catalogs with lots of good pictures? Maybe I could get myself on some mailing lists.

Lena

dd3 - LHTH
ds1

[Tansy]

You will eventually need the more expensive tube water colors. And personally I think they are way more portable and easier to use than the cake type. Investing in the primaries black and 2 tubes of white and a decent pack of paint brushes, and a plastic pallet would be helpful.

Another option is to buy a good set of pastels these will last for years! won't melt like crayons, Yet give the same satisfaction ease of use as crayons, Yes they are messy and dusty, but a sand a bit of one down add water and you have instant paint. If you have hair spray use that as fixative to keep the pastel on the paper.

we also don't have lots of magazines and the ones we do have I don't want her cutting them up. We also google images, use pictures from the grocery fliers, and some times I have her draw what she needs and cut that out. Also I keep all birthday cards etc. that come in a box and they can cut things out from those.

Substitution is always acceptable in our house

[gotpeace91]

My daughter recently used some of my catalogs to cut up for a project in her PHFHG guide. She used a Knitpicks yarn catalog, a flower catalog, and The Victorian Trading Co. catalog. There are tons of free gardening catalogs out there, and the yarn catalogs are great for the amount of colors in them.

I think that having a good paint set (we have a set of tempera paints and watercolor paints) and some good paint brushes are pretty essential.

My kids have been able to use either crayons or colored pencils. We do have markers but don't use them as much as the colored pencils.

Some things that I have been caught without are food coloring, wax paper, toothpicks, and straws. I made sure I had those this year.

We have used lots of copy paper, construction paper, and index cards. Scissors, tape, glue, clay, and playdough are also good to have.

[MelInKansas]

One thing that I didn't see on the longer list posted that we have used a lot in LHTH, LHFHG, and even Beyond, are ziploc baggies. Sometimes you put something in the bag and they can write the letter in that medium (dish soap). Sometimes you use it for math (put objects in, draw a line down the middle, have them count the ones on each side and add them together). Just recently we used some in a craft (made the Mayflower and had a hole in it with a baggie on the other side and they were loading it up with cheerios for the journey to America).

Some people keep these on hand, some people don't.

Go to your local library and see if they have old magazines that they either have been given or are throwing away. Or Dr offices (maybe pediatrics or pedatric dentists so you don't get People or Newsweek or something like that). Maybe you could find some pictures/images online to print out, if you have a color printer, that would work too. It would be like photography or something (of course double check copyrights) so that it would be a more complex image and they would still have something to cut out. We haven't used magazines since LHTH so you probably don't need those any longer than you will be doing LHTH.

My craft cabinet has grown since I've started homeschooling! The things I now have are glue sticks (lots!), fingerpaints, tempera paints (which are in tubes so you can move them, although I guess your movers don't take that stuff), paintbrushes, construction paper, white paper (printer paper), washable markers, washable crayons, colored pencils, stickers stickers and more stickers (whenever stickers are on sale I buy them, so much less messy than other decorations!), scissors, and now of course we need regular pencils and erasers for my DDs writing. We do also have glitter but I rarely use it - oh man what a mess! With this stuff and the regular household things like foil, spices, salt, etc I have had to improvise at times but not very often. I love how easy all the plans are!

Best wishes to you.

[countrymom]

We don't have old magazines either, but for LHFH I went online to google images and downloaded pictures ahead of time into word. Then I just printed it out and ds cut from that. Maybe not as fun as looking for them, but he wouldn't have stayed to task that long anyway. Just a thought.