The best art supplies for toddlers [our top 10]

Art time is a special time in our house. It’s a chance for the girls to sit down and create something entirely their own, without anyone telling them, “first do this, then do that.” It’s also an opportunity for me to gush over their creations and tell them how proud I am (however messy the results are!)

Today I can’t wait to share with you our favorite 10 art supplies for toddlers. With these, you’ll have everything you need for art time whenever you want.

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1. Crayons

Preview	Product	Price
	Crayola 24 Ct Crayons – 3 Boxes	$7.74	Buy on Amazon

I know there are a lot of giant, triangular, and egg-shaped crayons out there, and if your toddler is into those- great! But I say just get a box of good old fashioned normal-sized crayons. Little crayons are good for building your toddler’s holding and handling skills.

For an added bonus, put the crayons in a little bucket or a tin. That way, your toddler can clean them up all by themselves. (Getting every last crayon back into the box is hard. Throwing them in a bucket is easy.)

2. Markers

Preview	Product	Price
	Crayola Broad Line Markers, Classic…	$3.65	Buy on Amazon

Toddlers love markers. Make sure you have the washable kind (unless you’re feeling wild!) and be ready to help when it’s time to clean up. It takes a little while for toddlers to learn to take lids off and put them on again all by themselves.

3. An easel

Preview	Product	Price
	STEAM Life Large Art Easel for Kids,…	$45.97	Buy on Amazon

Easels are great because toddlers can stand up and work. Many easels come with a whiteboard side and a chalkboard side, and a clip to hold up paper. Even crayons become more interesting when you’re coloring on a huge paper on an easel.

4. Paper rolls

Preview	Product	Price
	Melissa & Doug Wooden Tabletop Paper…	$20.83	Buy on Amazon

Toddlers can go through a lot of paper really fast, so we like to buy these giant paper rolls, and unroll as needed.

5. Washable paint

Preview	Product	Price
	Crayola Washable Kids Paint (6ct), Paint…	$6.29	Buy on Amazon

Before you stop reading, hear me out- paint doesn’t have to be super messy. (I shared my tricks for easy paint set-up and clean up here.) A sheet under your workspace and a painting smock will go a long way.

My girls both started painting when they were one, and I could always count on them being occupied for at least 20 minutes. Which is an eternity for a toddler’s attention span!

6. Paint brushes

Preview	Product	Price
	Anezus Large Chubby Paint Brushes Round…	$6.99	Buy on Amazon

Even the smallest artists can get the hang of using a paint brush. I dab a little paint on a paper plate, put some paper on the easel, and hand them a paint brush. This is a toddler’s equivalent to a million dollars.

7. Finger paint

Preview	Product	Price
	Crayola Washable Finger Paints (6ct),…	$15.64	Buy on Amazon

Finger paint is also sure to be a hit! It provides great color-mixing practice, too. Dab a little bit of red, yellow, and blue onto a huge sheet of paper, and tell your little one to start mixing.

8. Stampers

Preview	Product	Price
	LUCKYBIRD Stamps for Kids, S0315 Best…	$7.89	Buy on Amazon

My daughters both loved stampers. Maybe because they got to bang them down on the paper.

9. White glue

Preview	Product	Price
	Elmer’s Glue-All Multi-Purpose Glue,…	$4.69	Buy on Amazon

Toddlers aren’t too small to start learning to use glue. You’ll need to spend a little bit of time teaching them to make little dots, but they’ll catch on before you know it. We buy a few bags of foam shapes, buttons, feathers, etc. at the dollar store, and glue away.

An extension to this is glitter glue– even more fun because it’s colored and glittery.

Preview	Product	Price
		Buy on Amazon

10. Do a dot markers

Preview	Product	Price
	Easter Basket Stuffers, Soucolor…	$19.99	Buy on Amazon

These have been a huge hit with my girls over the years! It’s basically a combination of a marker, paint, and a stamper. It looks like a big marker, but you stamp with it.

Kate is perfectly happy to make random dots all over a sheet of paper, but for older kids, you can print tons of dot-a-dot worksheets and activities to practice everything from colors and patterns to numbers and letters.

Did I miss any of your favorites?

Be sure to tell me about it in the comments. And above all- have fun with your little artist. Art time is always a favorite way for me to sit down and connect with my little girls. I hope you have the same wonderful experiences while creating with your little ones. 😉