Our Art Station [Montessori Toddler Art Set-Up]
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I am really excited to finally be sharing some of the spaces in our new home. We moved back in May but there has been disaster after disaster as we try to set up the home. I finally was able to share our playroom and now I am excited to share the art corner. I felt this needed its own post as there are a lot of components to it.
The basic setup is our play table from Lalo and the Makerwall from Sprout Kids (code OnTheWay10 gives a discount). The Makerwall was a second birthday gift from grandparents and is an amazing way to arrange art supplies. There are more affordable options such as this one from Target but I love the quality of ours from Sprout.
A lot of thought has gone into setting up my toddler’s art area. He is 2.5 and I don’t worry about him mouthing and choking on things anymore. He also generally is responsible with art supplies and won’t draw off the paper, etc. That said, everything available to him all the time is washable and non-toxic. My infant daughter cannot reach this table which is my preference given the fact she does mouth things and is generally not ready for accessible art supplies.
A big aspect of Montessori is the prepared environment. We want to give our children freedom within limits (another big Montessori idea!). These limits are as important as the freedom is. So here the freedom is I do provide a lot of art supplies, but there are limits. You will see, for example, that paint is not something he has access to all the time. He can ask to have it come down and I will generally say yes, but it is not accessible like many of the art supplies are. Likely the organization here will change as my second child is able to reach some of the supplies. At that point, I will need to prepare the environment to meet her needs as well and have the necessary limits.
As I mentioned, some of the art supplies are accessible at his level while other supplies are higher up or hidden away. We generally keep his sketchbook on the table as that is where he does most of his art. I love this as a way to contain his art and keep it for future memories. I do my best to date it but often forget. In terms of art supplies, at his level he has access to his watercolors, crayons and a sharpener for sharpening practice (we just took these ones from a restaurant), crayons he generally uses, and dot markers. The watercolors he does need help getting set up.
The next level up with the jars he could access independently by standing on the chair but does not. This is all prepared though with items I am happy for him to access independently. It has some other crayons (these are the ones I will introduce to my daughter soon), paint sticks, scissors with strips of paper for cutting, markers, and chalk. The scissors are metal but they are safe and I feel comfortable having them out as they do not cut fabric or skin.
Above the jars we have a paper organizer. In there he has construction paper, origami paper, a few coloring books, a few activities, and pipe cleaners. He can see these things and ask for any of them down at any point. Next to it we have his paints. I do not want them out accessible all the time but he can see them and request them as well. I will generally let him paint when he asks, though there are times I would say later.
Inside the cabinet on top there are more art supplies, mostly kept in pencil cases. These include googly eyes, extra paint sticks and markers, stickers and washi tape, popsicle sticks, glitter, extra scissors (we tried a lot of types before settling on our favorites), pompoms, and ceramic paint pens. We also have glue and non-washable paints up here. In front are a few pens and pencils I often use to write the date on his art. In the mesh bag on top of the pencil cases I have some paint brushes.
On the other side we have pompoms, play dough, and felt in the back. I also have my hot glue gun with the felt.
You will notice some of the supplies on top are ones I specifically do not want out for one reason or another. For example, the non-washable paint I want to make sure he cannot access independently. The googly eyes and pompoms as well are a choking hazard for my infant. Other supplies I just needed a place to put them such as the felt.
Play dough is another example of us needing to know our limits. My son has never been particularly interested in play dough and I found when he could see it or access it he would get it down, play for all of 10 seconds, and be done. I found the mess of play dough given the circumstances to not be something I wanted him to have access to. Because of that the play dough is up there and he is always welcome to request it.
If you’re looking to design a similar Makerwall from Sprout we did ours a la carte. We purchased 2 little tubs and 2 big ones (but we meant to order a third big one and will be ordering that next time we order from Sprout). We have the jar holder, the paper organizer, and the top cabinet.
