Kids Creative

Big Ideas Start With Small Hands

Give children some colour, a blank surface and the freedom to experiment — and see what happens.

Creative activities give children an opportunity to explore colour, shapes, textures, patterns and imagination while making something they can call their own.


At Mont Crafters, Kids Creative brings together ideas for painting, drawing, colouring, craft and modelling activities that can be adapted for different ages and abilities.

Some projects may produce a picture.

Others may produce a colourful mess.

Both are part of creating.

The aim isn't to make every project perfect. It is to give children the opportunity to try, discover, make decisions and create.

Painting Activities for Kids

Painting is one of the simplest ways for children to explore creativity.

A blank sheet of paper can become a landscape, a collection of colourful shapes, an imaginary creature or simply an experiment in what happens when different colours meet.

Try these activities:

Colour Mixing

Give children a few basic colours and let them discover what happens when they mix them.

Sponge Painting

  • Use suitable sponges to create different textures and patterns.

Shape Painting

  • Draw or cut simple shapes and let children paint inside, around or over them.

Nature Painting

  • Use flowers, leaves, trees or animals as inspiration for a painting.

Big Brush Painting

  • Give children a larger surface and let them experiment with broad strokes, movement and colour.

Dot Painting

  • Create pictures using individual dots of colour. This is particularly useful for introducing patterns and repetition.

Colour Exploration

Children don't need a complicated lesson to start learning about colour.

Give them the opportunity to experiment.

Start with a few colours and ask:

  • What happens when you mix these two?
  • What happens when you add white?
  • What happens when you add more of one colour?
  • Which colours look good together?
  • Can you make a picture using only three colours?

These simple questions turn an ordinary painting session into an opportunity for discovery.

Drawing & Colouring Activities

Not every creative activity needs paint.

Drawing and colouring allow children to work at their own pace while experimenting with lines, shapes and colour.

Drawing ideas

Try asking children to draw:

  • Their favourite animal
  • Their family
  • A dream house
  • A superhero
  • Their favourite food
  • A garden
  • A vehicle
  • An imaginary creature
  • A place they would like to visit

Don't correct the drawing into what an adult thinks it should look like.

Ask questions instead:

“Tell me about your picture.”

“What is happening here?”

“What made you choose that colour?”

This keeps the activity focused on imagination rather than whether the drawing looks "right."

Creative Colouring Projects

Colouring can become more than filling in printed outlines.

Give children a blank sheet and encourage them to create their own patterns.

Try:

Colour Pattern Challenge

  • Create repeating patterns using three or four colours.

Rainbow Challenge

  • Create an artwork using as many colours of the rainbow as possible.

One-Colour Challenge

  • Create an entire drawing using different shades of one colour.

Opposite Colours

  • Experiment with contrasting colours and see how they look beside one another.

Pattern Art

  • Fill shapes with dots, lines, waves, spirals or other repeated marks.

Kids Craft Projects

Crafting introduces children to a different type of creative problem-solving.


Instead of telling them what colour they will create, let them make the discovery themselves.

Simple craft ideas

Paper Animals

  • Fold, cut and decorate paper to create animals.

Paper Flowers

  • Create individual flowers and combine them into an arrangement.

Handmade Cards

  • Make personalised cards for birthdays, celebrations or family members.

Decorative Bookmarks

  • Create colourful bookmarks using drawing, painting and patterns.

Paper Masks

  • Design and decorate simple masks based on animals, characters or imaginary creatures.

Collage Artwork

  • Combine different pieces of paper, textures and drawings into one composition.

Decorative Containers

  • Transform suitable boxes or containers into colourful storage for pencils, toys or small objects.

Modelling & Clay Activities

Three-dimensional projects give children an opportunity to work with shape, form and texture.

Start with simple forms.

A ball.

A cylinder.

A coil.

A flat shape.

Then combine them.

Try creating:

  • Animals
  • People
  • Food models
  • Small houses
  • Characters
  • Decorative shapes
  • Miniature objects
  • Imaginative creatures

Encourage children to think about how individual shapes can be joined together to create something more complex.

Make an Imaginary Creature

This is a simple project with almost no creative limits.

Step 1

  • Draw the basic body shape.

Step 2

  • Decide how many legs, eyes, ears or wings it should have.

Step 3

  • Choose its colours.

Step 4

  • Add patterns, textures and details.

Step 5

  • Give it a name.

Step 6

  • Create a short story about where it lives and what it does.

This transforms a simple drawing exercise into a combination of art, storytelling and imagination.

Nature-Inspired Art

Children can find creative inspiration almost anywhere outdoors.

Look at:

  • Leaves
  • Flowers
  • Trees
  • Insects
  • Birds
  • Clouds
  • Stones
  • Shells
  • Skies

Then turn what you see into artwork.

Leaf Art

  • Observe the shape of different leaves and draw or paint them.

Nature Collage

  • Use suitable fallen natural materials alongside paper and other craft materials.

Cloud Drawing

  • Look at cloud shapes and turn them into imaginary characters or objects.

Garden Illustration

  • Create a drawing or painting based on a garden, real or imaginary.

The objective is to encourage children to look closely at their surroundings and turn observation into creativity.

Little Artist Challenges

Sometimes children simply need a creative challenge to get started.

The 10-Minute Challenge

Choose a subject and give yourself ten minutes to create it.

Don't worry about finishing every detail.

Three-Colour Challenge

Choose only three colours.

Create an entire artwork using them.

Draw From Memory

Look at an object for one minute.

Put it away.

Then draw what you remember.

Compare the drawing with the original.

Upside-Down Drawing

Turn a simple reference image upside down and try drawing what you see.

This encourages children to concentrate on shapes rather than their assumptions about what an object should look like.

Invent Something

Create an object that doesn't exist.

What does it do?

Who uses it?

Where does it live?

What does it look like?

Dress-Up & Character Creation

Creative play doesn't have to stop at drawing.

Children can design their own characters and then build artwork around them.

Create a character

Start with:

  • Name
  • Appearance
  • Personality
  • Favourite colour
  • Special ability
  • Home
  • Friends

Then draw or paint the character.

Older children can create several characters and develop a simple story around them.

Art & Storytelling

Combine drawing with storytelling.

Give a child a simple prompt:

“A tiny door appears at the bottom of the garden.”

Ask them to draw what happens next.

Or:

“You wake up and discover that your toys can talk.”

Let them illustrate the scene.

This type of activity allows children to combine visual creativity with imagination and communication.

Creative Activities for Families

Creative time doesn't have to be complicated.

Choose an activity where everyone can contribute.

Family Canvas

  • Everyone paints a section of one large canvas.

Collaborative Drawing

  • One person begins a drawing and another continues it.

Family Collage

  • Each person creates a small piece and all the pieces are assembled into one artwork.

Colour Challenge

  • Everyone receives the same three colours and creates a completely different artwork.

Story Illustration

  • One person creates the story while another illustrates it.

These activities are less about artistic ability and more about creating something together.

Creative Activities for Schools & Classrooms

Art projects can also be adapted for classroom environments.

Teachers can use creative activities to introduce concepts such as:

  • Colour theory
  • Shapes
  • Patterns
  • Texture
  • Nature
  • Storytelling
  • Design
  • Observation
  • Three-dimensional forms

Classroom project ideas

Class Colour Wheel

  • Each student creates a section of a large colour wheel.

Collaborative Mural

  • Students contribute individual sections to one larger artwork.

Texture Board

  • Students create different textures using paper, paint and suitable materials.

Nature Project

  • Students observe natural objects and translate them into drawings or paintings.

Recycled Art

  • Students transform suitable discarded materials into creative objects.

Let Children Experiment

One of the most important parts of children's creativity is allowing them to make choices.

Let them choose:

  • The colour
  • The subject
  • The materials
  • The composition
  • The size
  • The technique

The result may not look like what you expected.

That's fine.

A child who experiments with five colours and creates something unexpected is still learning about colour.

A child who draws an imaginary animal with eight legs is still learning about imagination.

A child who mixes every available colour together is still learning what happens when colours interact.

The process matters.

Choosing Materials for Children

  1. When selecting creative materials, consider the child's age, ability and the activity being performed.
  2. Look for materials appropriate for the intended age group and follow the manufacturer's instructions and safety guidance.
  3. For younger children, avoid activities involving small parts or tools that require close supervision.
  4. Adults should supervise children whenever the project involves materials or tools that could present a safety risk.

A Simple Kids Art Kit

You don't need to fill an entire cupboard to get started.

A basic creative kit might include:

Drawing

  • Drawing paper
  • Sketchbook
  • Coloured pencils
  • Markers
  • Crayons where appropriate

Painting

  • Suitable children's paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Palette
  • Painting surface
  • Water container

Craft

  • Paper
  • Card
  • Glue
  • Scissors appropriate for the child's age
  • Decorative materials

Modelling

  • Suitable modelling material
  • Basic modelling tools where appropriate

Start small and add materials as the child's interests develop.

The Creative Mess Is Part of It

Paint on the table.

Paper everywhere.

A few questionable colour combinations.

A modelling project that doesn't look quite like the original idea.

That's often what creative learning looks like.

Protect the work surface, organise the materials and establish simple cleanup habits, but don't make the possibility of a mess a reason not to create.

Give children a space where experimentation is allowed.

From First Mark to Finished Creation

A child's creative process doesn't need to follow a complicated formula.

It can be as simple as:

Choose → Explore → Experiment → Create → Share

Choose an idea.

Explore the materials.

Experiment without worrying about getting everything right.

Create something.

Then let them explain what they made.

Sometimes the explanation is more interesting than the artwork itself.

Let Them Create

Give them a blank page.

Give them some colour.

Give them an idea.

Then let their imagination take over.

Explore Kids Creative →

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some easy art activities for kids?

Simple painting, colouring, drawing, paper crafts, collage, modelling and pattern-making activities are good starting points. Choose the complexity according to the child's age and ability.

What can children paint?

Children can paint animals, flowers, landscapes, imaginary creatures, patterns, family scenes and abstract designs. Simple colour-mixing and shape-painting activities are also excellent ways to introduce younger artists to paint.

What are good craft projects for children?

Paper animals, handmade cards, paper flowers, bookmarks, collages, decorative objects and simple modelling projects can provide engaging creative activities.

How can I encourage my child to be creative?

Give them access to appropriate creative materials and allow them to make their own choices. Ask about their artwork rather than focusing only on whether it looks realistic or "correct."

What art supplies should I buy for a child?

Start with basic materials appropriate for the child's age, such as paper, drawing materials, suitable paints, brushes and simple craft supplies. You can add specialised materials as their interests develop.

Are art activities useful for children?

Creative activities give children opportunities to experiment with colour, shape, texture and visual communication while developing their ability to make choices and explore ideas.

Can children combine different art materials?

Yes, many creative projects can combine materials such as paper, paint, drawing media and modelling materials. Always make sure the materials are compatible and appropriate for the child's age and the intended activity.