the artistic house

I am forever preaching the evils of television to the parents of my Kindergarten classes. During conferences, anxious moms and dads implore, "What can we do?!" My immediate response: Limit screen time! But what is a busy parent to do? Don't we sometimes need just a moment's peace?!

At our house, we like to do art...lots and lots and LOTS of art.

Buy paper where you can find it....99 cents stores are great, or dumpster diving at the local recycle center can turn up gold. Try all sizes and colors of paper, lined or not. Most kids don't care.

We like Stockmeyer crayons. They are made of beeswax (sustainable and organic) so they smell wonderful. They come in rectagular blocks so one can execute thick and thin lines depending on the angle held. And the colors are spectacular, even on dark paper.

But don't eschew the odd bucket of art supplies picked up at the thrift store or a garage sale...one man's trash, and all that. We have a penchiant for tubs of old crayons, markers and pencils, and very often uncover treasure that later becomes a work of art. Watercolors, poster paints, glitter, stickers....the options are endless. I liked the article in this magazine about keeping boxes of art supplies available, ready to tote to whatever room appeals on a whim.
Here you can witness Princess #2's recent gallery of favorites. These are mostly portraits of family: "This is mommy, this is daddy, this is Sissy...." You get the picture. And then, best of all, she arranged the installation, aided by wads of poster gum that won't harm the walls but insures many happy viewings to come as the creativity keeps rotating, never limited.

And we get a moment's peace.