Best Art Supplies for Toddlers and Preschoolers

List of The Best Art Supplies for Kids:

1. Crayola Paint

You’re going to need paint and lots of it!

The Crayola Washable Finger Paints for Toddlers & Kids come in an 8 oz. squeezable bottle and it’s a good start-up set. The set includes six colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and black.

2. No Spill Paint Containers & Paintbrushes

You’re going to need paintbrushes and something to pour the paint for the kids to use.

To minimize spills and waste unused paint, I recommend you look into getting some no-spill paint containers like these. This set comes with 10 cups in assorted colors with matching paintbrushes for each cup and lids to keep paint from drying out.

Not only do these no-spill paint containers prevent big messes from occurring (for the most part), but it also saves you time by not having to refill paints all the time, and at the end of the activity put the lid on the cup and save it for the next day.

3. Painting Smocks or Aprons for Kids

These painting smocks will protect the children’s clothes while they create art or during messy play.

They can also serve double duty besides art and crafts activities use them during meal times to keep the kids’ clothing clean from messy foods.

These smocks are an excellent option for children that don’t do well with traditional bibs during meal times or aprons during art activities.

4. Dot Markers

Dot Markers – These are a big hit with kids of all ages! Each dot marker fits perfectly in the child’s hand and is easy to use.

There are so many free printables all over the internet you can use with these dot markers. Or do a spontaneous art project and get out a few blank sheets of paper and have the kids create freely.

5. Crayons

No daycare art center is complete without a big selection of crayons. I recommend you get a few boxes of crayons for children in different developmental stages.

For instance, for toddlers, these triangular crayons are easy to grip. Younger toddlers use their whole hand to grasp objects, and these crayons shaped like ovals are good.

Preschoolers can use triangular or oval-shaped crayons too, but regular-sized crayons are closer to the width of a pencil and a better choice.

Also, to give the children more options when creating self-portraits, family pictures, etc. I highly recommend you include a box of Crayola Multicultural Crayons in your stash of crayons.

6. Washable Markers

All art centers for kids should have markers.

Washable markers are the best option since you are more likely to have a mixed age group in your care. If the younger kids use them and draw on other places besides their worksheets or art paper, the markings will come off with a damp cloth.

If you are looking for great quality washable markers, you can’t go wrong with Crayola Ultra-Clean Washable Markers.

7. Sidewalk Chalk

Sidewalk Chalk is another good addition to your art supplies.

Grab a few pieces and take the kids outside on a nice day and have them draw. This activity breaks up the monotony of being indoors all day.

It’s fun for the kids and rejuvenating for you!

Check out: Quick and Easy Letter of the Week Craft Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers

List Of The Best Craft Supplies For Kids:

8. Safety Scissors

Safety (or blunt) scissors like these are great for children just learning how to use scissors.

This set of 6 works well for left and right-handed kids. Although these scissors are to be used by kids, please never leave them unsupervised when they are cutting with scissors.

9. Glue Sticks

Of course, you can’t forget the glue sticks. These disappearing purple glue sticks are washable, non-toxic, and perfect for crafts and other projects.

10. Stickers

It’s always nice to have a big collection of stickers available to use. You can create many prewriting and early math activities for children.

Or you can have the kids use them in their arts and crafts projects.

These dot stickers are also a great addition to your art center.

11. Variety of Art & Crafts Paper for Kids

You will find that a lot of crafts for kids require construction paper, so it’s best to always have some on hand.

Also, don’t forget to stock up on foam sheets like the pack here.

12. Stamp Sets

Stamps are a hit with the kids. They love creating with them!

Melissa & Doug has a lot of wooden stamp sets to choose from; you can get stamps that are perfect to use during transportation, fairy tale, animals, and other preschool themes.

Also, don’t forget to add a set of letter stamps to your stamps collection and plenty of ink pads!

13. Playdough

Kids of all ages love playing with playdough! It keeps them entertained for hours. Also, it’s an excellent way to get children to use their creativity to build whatever they can imagine.

You can make your own, but when it comes to store-bought, I have yet to use one better than Play-Doh’s modeling clay.

14. Activity Tray

Activity trays like the ones here are a must!

Not only will these trays make it easier for you to prepare the activity for each of the children, they help cut down on the mess by keeping most of the art and craft supplies inside the tray.

I love the color choices and that the trays aren’t flat. But if these trays aren’t in your budget right now, use aluminum baking sheets from the dollar tree as an alternative.

15. Food Coloring

If you’re more of a DIY person, then a set of food coloring should be a staple in your arts and crafts arsenal. You can use it to make homemade playdough, slime, paint, sensory bottles, etc.

16. Misc. Crafts & Art Supplies for Kids

Now, after you have all of the basics supplies for your arts and crafts center, don’t forget to include pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, colorful pompoms, sequins, feathers, tissue paper, clothespins for crafts, etc.

You can buy a lot of these things at your local Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, or start with this craft and art supply kit from Amazon. 

17. Storage Bins

To organize all of your arts and crafts supplies, I highly recommend storage bins like these.

18. Art Display Wall

As mentioned above, children take pride in their artwork, and having a place dedicated to displaying their work is essential. Not only does it give the room a bit of color, it tells children you too value their work.

Where you set up a display wall or area dedicated to their artwork will depend on your available space. 

I have a large room dedicated to my early childhood program and have this large tree decal on the wall. 

However, if you want something that blends in better with your home aesthetic. I recommend you get a few of these kids artwork picture frames.

How to Get Free Art & Craft Supplies

One way you can get free supplies to use in your art center is to go “shopping” in your own home.

Seriously!

There are a lot of things you can repurpose and use in your arts & crafts center.

You can collect them from stuff your family no longer uses. And if you’re a child care provider, teacher, etc., you can add a small blurb in your next newsletter to parents and ask them to donate a few extras to your classroom.

11 things you can reuse from around the house for art and crafts

Here is a list of 11 things you can reuse from around the house. I also included some art and craft ideas to get you started.

1. Magazines: use old editions of magazines for cutting practice and creating collages.
2. Toilet paper rolls: use them to organize crayons, create binoculars, build castles, animals, etc. The possibilities with this empty toilet paper rolls are endless!
3. Juice lids: make ornaments out of the lids.
4. Paper plates: perfect for creating masks.
5. Newspaper: use them to protect your art tables and make clean up easier.
6. Greeting cards: use old greeting cards to make new ones or glue the images on to juice lids and make Christmas tree ornaments.
7. Egg cartons: you can make animals and insects out of egg cartons.
8. Tissue paper: assorted colors of tissue paper can be used to create stained art glass, and other collage art projects.
9. Cotton balls: these are perfect to use during winter art projects. The children can use them to decorate a snowman, polar bear, clouds, etc.
10. Dish sponges: cut up a few sponges to give the children a texturized and inexpensive painting tool.
11. Assorted boxes: let the kids decorate a box with crayons, stickers, etc. The bigger the box, the better!

What are the most important things to consider when setting up an art center?

• age-appropriate environment – when you set up an art center for children you need to take into consideration their age and developmental skills. You don’t want to add materials that are too difficult for the child to work with or that might pose a safety risk.
• a well-stocked art center- having a variety of art supplies for children to create when they feel inspired is essential.
• inspiring space: the art space needs to allow children to feel creative.

✅ IMPORTANT: Please keep in mind, some of these arts and crafts supplies may be small pieces, with points or sharp edges. Adult supervision is a must at all times.

Related article: Must-have building blocks to create the best block play center for your home or daycare business.

Hope these ideas help out!

Please leave me a comment down below if you have an arts and craft supply that you love!