Circumstances have changed drastically within the past couple weeks, and there are more parents and kids stuck at home than ever before. I’ve seen plenty of memes on social media of parents scrambling for ways to keep their children occupied.

I know the days may seem long, but we’re in this together! I’m so thankful that even though we may all be stuck in our own homes, we have this online community #togetherapart. And hopefully by doing our small part, we’re working together to help “flatten the curve”.

Though these days of social distancing may be difficult, I am trying to be more intentional about how I spend my days with my boys. And doing arts and crafts is one way that we’re keeping ourselves occupied.

You see all these great ideas on Pinterest, but you need to make sure that you have the supplies to actually do these activities and crafts with your kids.

I got you! I’ve compiled a list for an arts and crafts starter kit. Here are all the basic supplies you need at home to do any arts and crafts with your toddlers and preschoolers at home (can be used with older kids too!).

Arts and Crafts Starter Kit for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Construction Paper

Scissors

I love that these are rounded–so much more toddler-friendly!

Glue Stick

White Glue

Washable Paint

I would definitely recommend using washable paint for younger children. This paint is so much easier to wash off than regular paint. Trust me, I learned the hard way!

Painting Tray

Watercolor Paint

Paint Brushes

Painting Set

I thought this was a great option if you didn’t want to buy paint and brushes separately!

Painting Smock

This has saved so many clothes! No more telling my son to be careful and not get paint on his clothes 🙂

Crayons

Finger Crayons

So great for younger children! It’s easy to grab, and my sons love putting them on their finger, and also stacking them. Not just for coloring! Definitely a win in my book.

Markers

Dot Markers

Paint Sticks

I love these! The colors are super opaque, and it dries so quickly that it doesn’t make a mess like normal paint does. I’ve gifted them to a number of our friends’ kids. So good!

Tissue Paper

Popsicle Sticks

Googly Eyes

These do have self-adhesive backs, which are convenient, but they are hard to peel! But you can always use white glue to stick them on as well.

Pipe Cleaners

Masking Tape

Scotch Tape

Stickers

My 3-year-old looooves stickers! You can use these for so many fun and educational activities. These ones are easy to peel as well!

See them in action:

We recently finished using those dot stickers, and found these more colorful ones! They are a little thinner than the other ones making them slightly more difficult to peel off if your child is new to using stickers. (My 4 year-old has no problem with these.)

But I love that they are brightly colored, and it comes in a large sheet, so you can print on them if needed!

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Contact Paper

This one may seem weird, but if you tape it on to the wall sticky side out, your kids will have so much fun sticking stuff on!

Kraft/Butcher Paper

This stuff is so versatile! You can get your kids to draw on this, but you can also use it for minimalist wrapping paper!

Plastic Table Cover

I use this on our coffee table (which is where we do a lot of our crafts). It makes cleaning up a breeze!

Large Plastic Container

I use this bin almost every day. It can be used for so many things! We do sensory bins in this, and even painting and other messier projects can be contained in this bin. Love it!

I got mine at IKEA. Here it is in action:

Here is a similar one on Amazon.

Food Coloring

Lastly, I wanted to mention food coloring! It is not an absolute arts and crafts starter kit essential, but it definitely makes sensory bins a lot more fun!

I recently invested in these and they are SUPER pigmented, which dyes everything really well. But do be careful since it can stain fingers if you touch it directly.

I used it to dye rice for our Valentine’s Day Matching Hearts Activity.

And also for our Lunar New Year Sensory Bin Activity as well.

There you have it!

These are all the supplies that you should have in the home as a basic arts and crafts starter kit to do all sorts of activities with your toddlers and preschoolers (and big kids too).

I hope this list was helpful. Let me know if there is anything you think that should be added to this list!

Also, if you’re wondering how I organize my kids’ arts and crafts supplies, make sure to check out my post on affordable home organization!

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