How to Easily Include Art in Your Homeschool Day

Enrichment subjects like art often get pushed aside when homeschool families are short on time. Learn how you can easily include art in your homeschool day so that it no longer gets left behind.

Would you like to include art more often in your homeschool day, but you just aren’t sure where to even begin?

I received access to The Studio curriculum for free. All reviews are honest and my own opinion. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Please see my full disclosure for further information.

Creating art and learning about artists throughout history is something that should be included in your homeschool. The more often kids are exposed to works of art, they learn to appreciate art and the artists behind the creations.

Would you like to add art to your day, but you aren’t quite sure exactly how to do that? Continue on for ideas, and not only will you be ready for your next art class, but you’ll look forward to it as well!

Add Homeschool Art to Your Morning Basket

Art is a perfect addition to any morning basket. The purpose of a morning basket is to include those subjects that all of your children can enjoy. Art definitely is something that your preschooler up to your high schooler can spend time learning together.

There are many ways that you can incorporate art into your homeschool day that also work perfectly included in a morning basket.

1. Use an Online Homeschool Art Curriculum

One of the easiest ways I’ve found to include more art into your homeschool day is to let someone else prepare it for you! Many times what’s holding us back isn’t that we don’t want to include art; it’s that we don’t know how to include art. Allowing someone who knows how and what to include for art lessons is a perfect alternative to coming up with the lessons yourself–and saves you time!

When I think about teaching art,

• I want it to be something my kids enjoy.
• I’d like it to be easy to plan.
• Projects should include materials I usually have on hand.
• I’d like to include other subjects like literature with the art history from time to time.

I’ve been so happy to find an online art program that includes everything on my list–and more!

The Studio, an online membership from Art History Kids, is a great way to include art in your homeschool day. Each month brings a new art topic, perhaps the works of a single artist or works from a few different artists around a common theme.

I love getting the lesson plans emailed to me. All I have to do is print them off, though they can also be viewed online. Everything I need to share the lesson with my kids is in the plans, from questions to ask the kids to details about the artist’s life and works of art. If I prefer to let someone else do the teaching, the owner, Lotus, has videos of the material that my kids can watch instead.

Once a week, my kids enjoy creating their own art projects based on the works we study. The projects use materials found around the house or easily obtained at any store. My kids look forward to those projects each week, and it’s been amazing to see what they create!

Benefits to an Art History Kids Membership

• Monthly printable guide that gives you all the information you need to teach
• Live zoom art chat to use instead of (or in addition to) the monthly guide
• Short videos to watch throughout the month on the artist’s life and artwork
• Most projects use items easily found in your home
• Complete and in-depth art curriculum
• Curriculum can be used with many ages, making it perfect for homeschooling families
• Access to a free, private Facebook group to share projects or ask questions
• Opportunities for LIVE events, including a live student art show to showcase your work
• Access to previous lessons
• Plus, masterclasses for parents on teaching art, storing art materials and more

Try Art History Kids for Yourself

The Studio, which is the monthly membership program from Art History Kids, is not always open for enrollment. But as my reader, you can join at any time, and even get a free sample month! Click the button below to give it a try.

Another really fun online art curriculum to try is You Are an Artist. These chalk pastel lessons are taught by Nana, an endearing grandmother that my children just love. They have lessons to incorporate art into lots of other subjects, including history, science, and literature. Even preschoolers can get in on the chalk art fun with special preschool lessons. The very best thing? All you need for these lessons is chalk pastels and paper!

2. Include Art in Nature Study

In our family, we love getting out to enjoy and study nature. Sometimes it’s just through a simple nature walk. Other times, we’ll be indoors reading books about nature. It’s easy to include art in your day through nature study.

My boys have nature journals that they grab, along with a pencil, when we go on our nature walks. They sketch what they observe outside, then come inside to add color and details if they desire.

As I read our nature books each week, they use their nature journals to draw what we’re studying. For example, when we studied owls, they drew owls based off of a book cover while I read information about them.

Are you trying to figure out how to include art in a busy homeschool day? Create a simplified homeschool routine that allows extra time in your day for fun art projects. I’ll help you in 5 easy steps with my free Create Your Own Weekly Homeschool Routine guide, my gift to you when you join my email community. As a bonus, you’ll also receive wonderful homeschooling tips and ideas through email on a weekly-ish basis.

3. Read Books about Artists

Yet another way to easily include art in your homeschool day is through literature. Reading books about the artists remind your children that there is a person behind the art they are studying.

I particularly enjoy the Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists series by Mike Venezia. The book’s illustrations are part cartoon and part pictures of the artist’s works. Lots of information about the artist’s life is told throughout the book in an interesting way for kids.

I also like picture books about artists written by Laurence Anholt. The illustrations are wonderful, and the story is just as good. My kids are captivated throughout the books.

4. Provide Easy Access for Art Supplies

Another idea to help include art into your day is to have art supplies readily available for your children to use. My kids love using watercolors with nice paint brushes. They also enjoy creating art using chalk pastels and regular copy paper. Even just crayons and colored pencils set out with some paper will attract your kids to create art.

Leave the art supplies where your children can access them. If you have to keep them out of reach or even out of sight for younger siblings, then at least let your older children know where they can find them. If you are able to leave the art supplies out, this rolling cart makes a perfect art tray.

5. Strew Art Supplies and Books

Occasionally strew art supplies to entice your children into creating art. If you are unfamiliar with strewing, the concept means to lay materials out for your children as an invitation to create. For example, you might lay a how to draw book out with some colored pencils and a few pieces of paper.

When your child sees what you’ve strewed, the idea is that they’ll want to do that activity. However, they are not assigned work to do. It is simply laid out as a suggestion and there is no expectation of the final product. The Draw Write Now series of 8 books makes great strewing materials for younger children, while the Draw and Write through History is perfect for older children. My kids also enjoy the books by artist Ralph Masiello.

Lead by Example

Finally, let your kids see you doing art. They will see that art is something important and enjoyable when Mom is making it a part of her day as well.

I often sit with my kids as they watercolor and paint beside them. Chalk pastels are not just fun for kids, I enjoy them as well. Spending time creating art is a relaxing and calming activity as well, which I’m certain all homeschool moms could use more of!

Watch this Video about Adding Art to Your Homeschool Day

Incorporating art in your homeschool day can be very easy and fun. Begin your day with art when you include it in your morning basket time. Make it as easy as can be when you let someone else plan the lessons for you. Add it to other subjects like nature study.

Also be sure to read books about the lives of the artists. And leave art supplies within your kids’ reach, or even strew some invitations to play, so that they can create art when inspiration strikes. When you include art in your homeschool day, your children will remember the experiences fondly and grow up with a love of art.