craft box for 3yr old

[shelbean91]

I'm trying to come up w/a craft box to keep dd entertained occasionally. So far I have a ton of crayons, glue stick, constrution paper and scissors. Any other age appropriate suggestions?

[LuvMy2Kidz]

Washable markers finger paints craft sticks(popsicle sticks)

[zealsmom]

We actually keep two cupboards in the kitchen stocked with art supplies. He can access it himself, which is nice. We spent a day putting it together, sorting all the materials into baskets, and then making labels for each basket. He now is able to find what he needs and can put everything away on his own. This is what we have in our art cupboards off the top of my head(minus the already mentioned items) He's 2.5.

Recycled materials!!!!!!!! (toilet paper rolls, old boxes, milk cartons, bubble wrap, anything else!!)

feathers and other random items for gluing, and glitter glues.

clay (not just playdough, actual clay)and clay tools (real clay tools and other "tools" like chopsticks, etc.)

items to trace (lacing cards and large cookie cutters, which work well with the clay)

stamps (we have the kind used for batiking and they work well with regular paint or finger paint)

different kinds of paint - tempera, acrylic (for clothes or other permanents, and defintely watercolors)

old calendars - make for great cutting and gluing projects.

Different kinds of scissors - squiggly edges etc.

Blank books that he can fill in on his own or glue into or whatever.

Stickers

I think that might be all for now.

[zealsmom]

so i just went and checked what we actually have. In addition to the previously mentioned things, we also have:

body paint
raffia/ ribbons
corks (that we have used for 'pointillism' type paintings
chalk/chalkboard
oil pastels
rolling pin
art books (some that have craft ideas, others that are just collections of certain artists - he likes to flip through and look at the pictures sometimes and talks about some that we have seen in museums)

I also wanted to add that this art area in our house has developed over time, and it would undoubtedly be overwhelming for a child this age (or any age for that matter) to all of a sudden be given so many choices of materials. What we do is introduce a certain medium and work with just that medium for a while until he is comfortable with it. Now he chooses on his own to mix media, although oftentimes he will do a piece using just one type of medium. So i guess I say that all to say, that it is probably best to start slowly and get her involved in adding to the craft box. She will then be invested in its contents.

Our next addition will prbably be some soft bendable wire, because ds has been showing an insterst in creating sculpture (usually out of forks and other utensils or our recycled materials.

[shelbean91]

Thanks for all the suggestions. They're great. Unfortunatly, I can't institute a cabinet for the art supplies, as anything that easy for dd to get into, is also easy for ds to get into and he's still into putting things in his mouth.

[elfmum]

pipecleaners
beads
fabric scraps

[Mattia]

Ohhhh, what great ideas! As much as I'm sad to see my baby grow so fast, it's neat to imagine all the cool activities we can do together as he grows up!