Teaching art to kids is too hard. You should give up.
That’s right. Those are the words that someone put out into the world this past week. I couldn’t believe it.
She didn’t mean that teaching art had its hard days, or that you were tired, underpaid, overworked, or that wrangling multiple-aged kids around a dining table was tough.
What this person meant was that you weren’t capable, so you should let her do it instead.
I leaped up on my Irish Spring soapbox in my Facebook communities, because nothing gets me fired up more than having someone throw shade on others’ capabilities. Hearing the responses made me realize that I need to put my own words out into the world:
Teaching art to kids is fun. And you are MORE than capable of doing it.
For those of you homeschooling, or those of you who are starting off in the art room for the very first time, or those of you who have been teaching for a long time but are struggling with new technology – nothing can be farther from the truth.
Like anything new, teaching art can seem overwhelming.
You may wonder if you need every single supply out there.
You may wonder what on earth liquid watercolors are.
You may wonder how on earth are you going to find the right project for your kids/students.
Many of us, especially homeschoolers, turn to video lessons, and I love them too. But they aren’t a replacement for you because you don’t have the ability. They’re perfect for when you need to step away, and a great way for you to build your confidence.
But you are just as capable of learning the supplies, the skills, and taking part in the joy that is teaching art to kids. And I’m here to inspire you and empower you to do just that.
And as a side note, if anyone tells you that you aren’t capable, it’s not a voice you want to be listening to. In fact, send them my way for a little chat.
How to Teach Art to Kids: All About Watercolors, Part 1
This is the first of many new posts in a series that will get you comfortable understanding supplies, and will also give you that pep talk that you need. First we’ll talk about watercolors for kids.
Pan watercolors for kids – how many of these things do you need?
Watercolors are one of the first art supplies we tend to run out and buy as a parent (after we’ve watched our kids complain about the white crayon and leave the caps off all of the markers).
Watercolors is a broad paint term for a paint that’s activated with water. They’re typically transparent, and when put on watercolor paper, they love to swirl and blend in these pastel color formations that are almost dreamy. And yet, they can be incredibly bright as well, especially when you find ones with a lot of pigment.
Pan or cake watercolors are the ones that come in sets of rainbow colors – usually circles or ovals. Prang and Crayola Educational come in smaller sets of 8 colors, and they can go all the way up to 36 colors.
Do you need all of these in the picture? Oh goodness, no.
To get started with watercolor painting, one basic set is all you need. That’s it.
Grab one of the sets below, or if you have one, you’re gold. (These are all aff links, by the way, but please shop around as pricing can vary wildly!).
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can’t do watercolor projects because you don’t have 12,398,123 colors and only have the 8 color set! Having fewer colors to work with is a beautiful way to learn how to mix the colors!
Basic Sets
Crayola Educational (not pictured, but similar to Prang)
Bianyo (comes with really nice brushes, and a few neons)
So what are all of these other sets?
Opaque Watercolors
Arteza and Faber Castell offer watercolors that are a little more opaque. That means they cover up more of your Sharpie and pencil lines. They both come with a little tube of white – that’s for mixing with the colors to create tints (colors that are lighter than you normally would have gotten). Note that these are rather terrible for doing watercolor techniques (sprinkling salt, using saran wrap – more on these in a future post). But the colors are absolutely gorgeous – think of them as a more mess free way to add color that’s closer to tempera paint.
Faber Castell Connector Paints
All the Sparkles and Neons
The rest of these are just icing on the cake. If you have kids/students who are wanting something special, or an upgrade, they might love having neon watercolors or ones that shimmer! There are many different brands out there, but Ooly consistently makes a beautiful watercolor set for kids – and it’s not very expensive either! Bonus to these – they work on black paper!
Ooly Chromablends Neonhttps://amzn.to/3hBOnyD
Ooly Pearlescenthttps://amzn.to/3ouQOEP
In summary…
You only need one set of watercolors in order to create watercolor art, and you don’t even need a lot of colors. In all about watercolors, part 2, we’ll tackle paper!
Looking for something to create right now?
Here’s two projects that are perfect to start with, perfect for all ages!
