I believe that children who participate in mindful art👨🎨 activities learn to slow down, be in the moment, and express themselves artistically, developing a good attitude toward art and self-expression🖊.
I do a lot of these activities with my little ones regularly, and it also serves as good parent-child time. I would say that children benefit from the therapeutic qualities of art, like decreased stress levels, increased attention span, and improved emotional well-being 😊.
Fascinating Mindful Art Activities For Kids
Let me take you through the top mindful art activities for children that are not only educational but will also teach you to have fun.
Drawing Nature Scenes
You can encourage your kids to draw the details of nature scenes around them. They can carefully capture the complex details of the flowers🌻, trees, and animals🦓 in nature landscapes.
I believe that while drawing scenes from nature, children mentally enter the beauty of the natural world and develop a feeling of connection with it✏.
Coloring Mandalas
You can make your kids pick their favorite colors and color mandala outlines. I suggest you encourage your kids to consciously color within the complex patterns of the mandala, which needs their complete concentration.
Mandala coloring🖍️ encourages a state of relaxation and attention, resulting in a feeling of inner harmony and peace in your kids.
Pro Tip:
You can print various mandala outlines for your kids to color in.
Doodling
You can allow your children to freely express their creativity with mindful doodling and free-flow sketching✍🏼.
I believe this encourages them to be in the moment while they come up with original and innovative creations📄.
Painting Landscapes
You can get your kids to create gorgeous landscapes🌆 that are full of emotion and peace by engaging in mindful watercolor painting.
They can develop a feeling of fluidity and awareness while creating these landscapes, which teaches kids to notice the movement of colors and water on paper.
Sketching Still-Life Objects
I recommend you try this art activity to help your children develop their observational abilities by carefully drawing still-life objects.
Through this art, they can pay attention to dimensions, shadows👥, and textures and develop patience and an appreciation for the beauty of commonplace items.
Finger Painting
Your kids will love finger👆 painting to create simple yet beautiful pieces of art with their fingers acting as a paintbrush.
Finger painting encourages spontaneity and unrestrained expression in your children’s art by deliberately engaging their senses as they explore colors and textures with their fingers.
Pro Tip:
I sometimes draw or print outlines for my son to fill using finger painting.
Sunset Pastel Drawing
I suggest you let your children experiment with mixing and layering methods to capture the beautiful hues of the setting sun by drawing sunsets with pastels.
They will be inspired to be present in the moment and appreciate the beauty and peace of nature’s dusk by this contemplative exercise🏞.
Collage Making
I suggest you make your kids choose colorful pictures and textures🖼 from magazines and newspapers to arrange them into compelling compositions, which is the process of creating collages.
Your kids will develop their focus and creativity as they use collages to express themselves through this practice.
Crayon Resist Art
You can get your kids to create mindful crayon-resist art, which combines crayons and watercolors🎨 to produce to produce vivid and colorful artwork.
They can use crayons to draw on a surface, then paint over it with watercolors to uncover the stubborn crayon.
My son really enjoyed this form of art and found it fascinating.
Zentangle Art with Patterns
Drawing elaborate and repeated patterns methodically and thoughtfully is a component of Zentangle art.👨🎨
With the help of this contemplative art form, your kids can concentrate and feel peaceful by bringing their attention to the moment.
Origami
You can introduce your kids to origami, the art of paper folding, to engage them in folding paper📜 into different forms and figures.
I found that my son learned the skills of patience, problem-solving, and appreciation for the paper folding craft, which were fostered by this practice.
Pro Tip:
You can follow step-by-step tutorials to guide your kids to fold the paper into basic origami shapes to get them started with paper folding.
Painting Flowers
You can encourage your children to capture the beauty and delicateness of petals and leaves by blending colors🌸 and adding texture by drawing flowers using oil pastels.
This sensory encounter allows kids to build a closer relationship with nature.
Writing a Personal Journal
You can make your kids include drawings, colors, and words to deliberately convey sentiments📘 and emotions in a personal diary.
By doing this, your children can explore and analyze their inner experiences in a secure environment with this meditative and creative process.
Fun Fact:
Mindful art activities combine creativity and mindfulness practices to help people concentrate on the present moment while expressing themselves creatively.
Chalk Art
You can give your kids various colors of chalk to create art by deliberately drawing🖋 on sidewalks or blackboards. They can engage their senses and experience the chalk’s texture while using the chalk.
I guarantee your kids will love creative art activities like my son did.
Dot Painting with Cotton Swabs
Your kids can dip Q-tips or cotton swabs in paint and use them to make dots on the paper to create elaborate patterns or designs for dot🔴 painting.
I believe this repeated, rhythmic movement promotes relaxation in your kids and improves their attention.
Pro Tip:
I sometimes draw an outline image for my son to fill with the dots using cotton swabs as another version of coloring.
Mosaic Art
I would say that mindfully placing small pieces of colored paper, glass bits, or tiles🀄 into a coherent pattern is the basis of mosaic art. You can instruct your children to concentrate on where each piece goes while accepting flaws and admiring the beauty of the overall artwork.
There’s a quote that I want to share – “Great things are made up of little things.” In this case, all the tiny pieces come together to make beautiful mosaic artwork.
Painting with Natural Materials
I recommend this activity for your children to explore the textures and patterns found in leaves🍃, sticks, and other natural items by painting with attentive use of natural materials.
You can let your kids go to the garden or a nearby park to collect nature items and make creative art with them as a meditative art activity.
This outdoor-themed art project encourages our kids to have a closer relationship with nature and awakens their imagination.
Paper Marbling
Make your kids drizzle food coloring over shaving cream and swirl the colors to produce hypnotic patterns to do paper marbling.
This art activity encourages your kids’ concentration and curiosity, allowing them to indulge in sensory play to nurture their senses.
Pottery
You can invite your children to deliberately shape💠 and mold clay into different shapes via pottery making and clay sculpture. This tactile art style promotes your kids’ attention when working with the material and their patience.
Pro Tip:
After the pottery and clay pieces are dried, you can make your kids paint and decorate them.
Colored Sand Art
I recommend you involve your kids in layering different colored sand🏖 to create elaborate shapes or patterns in a conscious way to make sand art.
As your kids take their time to make aesthetically appealing pieces, this exercise encourages a relaxing and concentrated experience for them.
Crayon Leaf Rubbing
Make your kids place leaves beneath the paper and consciously rub crayons over them to expose their textures and patterns to create “leaf rubbings🍁.”
I believe that your children can be introduced to nature via this exercise, which fosters awe and respect for the beauty of leaves.
Pro Tip:
You can instruct your kids to spend time in the garden or nearby park to collect different varieties of leaves to make leaf rubbings.
Acrylic Pouring
I would say that acrylic pouring is the intentional application of acrylic paint 🎨 to a canvas by pouring and tilting the canvas to produce captivating abstract patterns with the acrylic paints.
You can encourage your children to accept the uncertain design of the outcome and appreciate the movement of colors via this process-based painting.
Pro Tip:
I must tell you that this activity might get a bit messy, so ensure that you lay newspapers on the surface and make your kids wear aprons or old clothes.
Handmade Stamps
Making handcrafted stamps from a variety🔯 of materials and using them to print patterns or pictures is the practice of mindful stamping that your kids will love doing.
You can encourage your children to investigate pattern-making and play with various textures while doing this art activity.
Scratch Art
Using a scratch instrument to uncover the colors behind a layer of vivid crayons or paint on black paper📜 is known as mindful scratch art.
You can get your children to concentrate on making elaborate drawings and investigating contrast with this exercise.
Paper Silhouettes
You can introduce your kids to paper cutting, which mindfully involves carefully cutting elaborate forms or silhouettes from paper.
I recommend making paper silhouettes to help your kids develop their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination as they cut✂ the papers and appreciate the beauty of negative space via this contemplative exercise.
Batik Art
Hot wax🐝 is applied to cloth in the batik technique, then the fabric is dyed. You can guide your kids to try their hands at this new art form.
Your children will be able to develop a sense of concentration and patience while expressing their creativity via this ancient art form by carefully making elaborate designs with wax and dye.
Watercolor Resist Art
Drawing patterns or designs on paper using a white crayon and then painting with watercolors over them is known as watercolor resist art.
Your kids will love this art activity, and beautiful and surprising effects are produced by examining🎨 the white crayon’s resistance to the paint while combining colors.
Perspective Drawing
Let your children pay attention to vanishing points and produce realistic and proportionate architectural drawings🌇 by using attentive perspective while sketching buildings.
By doing this art activity, your kids develop their focus, spatial awareness, and observational abilities.
Fun Fact:
Mindful painting allows for real self-expression. It encourages people to let go of their expectations and judgment, enabling them to freely express themselves via art.
Mirror Imaging
Your kids can create symmetrical designs by folding the paper, painting an artwork on one side, and then mirroring🪞 it to create symmetry art.
Through this exercise, you can encourage your children to consider balance and proportion while making their masterpiece✏.
My son was fascinated with this art and loved making them.
Pro Tip:
You can draw rough lines for them to use as guidance to mirror their artwork to the other side easily.
3D Paper Sculpture
You can encourage your kids to create 3D paper sculptures by mindfully cutting and folding paper into complex, three-dimensional forms.
Through this art exercise, your kids can explore various shapes and structures💠 as well as spatial thinking.
Bubble Wrap Painting
You can make your kids apply paint on bubble wrap and press the bubble wrap onto a paper or canvas. This allows your kids to explore textures and patterns🫧 while being attentive to their surroundings.
I would say that this sensory exercise encourages children to add texture to their artwork joyfully and imaginatively 🧠.
Blind Contour Drawing
I suggest you guide your kids to try the blind contour sketching method, where they can draw a topic or object without looking at the paper and concentrating only on the contours and forms seen⛰️.
By encouraging your kids to let go of expectations and embrace flaws, this mindful method of drawing cultivates acceptance and self-discovery in them.
Abstract Art
I suggest you encourage your children to freely express their feelings and ideas via impulsive brushstrokes🖌 and color choices when they engage in mindful abstract painting.
This intuitive process fosters emotional connection and self-expression in your kids.
Bamboo Painting
Your children will feel consciously connected to nature and the tactile sensation of working with natural materials when they paint with a bamboo brush🎍.
I believe this practice fosters a more intimate connection with the creative process by encouraging your kids to adopt a focused and contemplative approach to brushwork.
Weaving
You can get your children to deliberately participate in a rhythmic and tactile process by weaving with yarn🧶 and paper.
They may feel peaceful and focused while creating distinctive and complicated designs🍥 as they interlace the materials.
Self Portrait
You can encourage your children to examine their self-identity📸 and feelings via art when they draw self-portraits carefully. They gain self-awareness and learn to appreciate their individuality and inner beauty by drawing themselves on paper.
Pro Tip:
I give my son a photo of him to try and recreate on paper by looking at it.
Nature Photography
Photographing with a mindful awareness means capturing🖼 the moment in nature and your surroundings.
I recommend you encourage your kids to take photos of nature using your phone or a compact digital camera.
Your kids can develop mindfulness by paying attention to their environment, discovering beauty in simplicity, and being completely present while taking pictures.
Pro Tip:
I framed some of my son’s photographs of nature to decorate the walls of our home.
Fun Fact:
The experience of mindful creation is more important than the outcome. It enables people to experiment with diverse materials, textures, and methods without fear of failure.
Melting Crayons
Let your children explore the flow of colors and textures by consciously applying melted crayons🖍 to a canvas.
They will be able to appreciate the contemplative process of making colorful and abstract art while embracing the unexpected properties of the melted crayons.
Tea Straining
An antique and rustic look may be achieved by carefully staining paper with coffee or tea🍵. You can guide your children to explore art with tea staining and allow them to learn to appreciate the subtle differences and textures that this organic media produces.
Pro Tip:
You can encourage your kids to draw with a marker on tea-stained sheets of paper as a background effect.
Paper Quilling
Paper📄 quilling refers to rolling and shaping paper strips into intricate patterns.
I would say that quilling allows your kids to concentrate while producing beautiful works of art in a repetitive and contemplative manner.
Pro Tip:
You can start by teaching your kids basic shapes to create designs to decorate greeting cards and make artwork.
Encaustic Art
Beeswax🐝 and pigments are melted to produce richly textured artwork in encaustic art. You can make your children explore the wax’s fluidity and see how the colors change as they get fully immersed in this sensory art form.
Thread Art
You can encourage your kids to draw lines and patterns on paper by gluing or weaving🧵 threads to make mindful art. This practice promotes their creative expression and improves fine motor abilities.
Spray Paint
I suggest you make your children explore patterns and textures with this dynamic painting method by carefully using stencils🎨 and spray paint.
They can embrace the spontaneity of spray paint and experiment with layering and various stencil patterns.
Fun Fact:
Engaging in mindful art can reduce stress and anxiety by encouraging a calm and focused state of mind. The act of mindfully creating art promotes relaxation and a sense of serenity.
Alcohol Ink Art
You can allow your kids to use alcohol 🍷 ink to create beautiful art while painting on tiles and watching the vivid colors.
On the slick surface of the tiles, they can watch how the inks interact and produce fascinating abstract patterns.
Plastic Bottle Flowers
The process of making flowers 🌻 out of melted plastic bottles involves cutting and melting plastic bottles.
While your kids have fun molding and reshaping the plastic, this eco-friendly🚮 art project teaches them to reuse resources.
Chalk Pastel Landscape
Your kids will enjoy creating chalk pastel landscapes, which can be made by combining pastel colors to produce vivid and ethereal scenery🌆.
You can encourage your kids to completely immerse themselves in the velvety, smooth feel of the chalk pastels as they do this fun painting project.
Pro Tip:
I let my son take inspiration from nature to recreate landscapes with chalk pastels.
Collage
You can let your children carefully blend many materials, such as paper, cloth👕, and other items, into a coherent artwork by making use of mixed media and collage techniques.
Through this art activity, self-expression and creative experimentation are encouraged in your kids by this varied and expressive approach.
Embroidery
You can help your kids stitch and adorn cloth with vibrant threads as a part of the deliberate process of creating art with fabric and embroidery🥻.
Your children can fully engage in the contemplative process of stitching, which promotes a deliberate and moderate pace through this art.
Paint Splatter
I recommend you let your kids create art with paint splatters as a way to express themselves freely by splattering paint🎨 on a canvas or piece of paper. This exciting and freeing method embraces the random nature of the splatters and promotes spontaneity.
I must tell you that my son loves splattering paint to create art and always has a good time doing so.
Monoprinting
When mono-printing mindfully, your kids can apply ink✒️ or paint to a flat surface to produce one-of-a-kind prints that are then transferred to paper or cloth.
With this printing technique, you can encourage your kids to accept flaws🎨 and unanticipated outcomes, developing their creativity and flexibility.
Linoleum Block Printing
You can guide your kids to carve a pattern on a linoleum block🪙, ink it, and then transfer the image to paper for linoleum block printing.
You can encourage your children to concentrate on the accuracy of carving and the skill of printing throughout this printmaking process.
My son had a great time exploring printing with linoleum blocks, and we made art pieces that we hung on the walls of our home.
Inkblot Designs
You can make your kids fold a sheet of paper in half, make blots using ink or paint on one side, fold, and then unfold it to show symmetrical patterns to make inkblot drawings✏️.
Your children are encouraged to accept the randomness and individuality of each inkblot through this practice.
My son thoroughly enjoyed creating art with inkblots as it was fascinating to see the various designs formed each time.
Plastic Beads
You can help your kids make bright and unique beads by cutting, melting, and shaping plastic bottles. I would say that this earth-friendly art project will inspire your kids to use recycled materials in new ways.
Pro Tip:
My son made bracelets with these plastic beads to give to his sister, and you can try that with your kids, too.
Sun Print Photography
Putting items or patterns on light-sensitive paper and exposing them to sunshine is known as sun print photography📷.
Your children can discover the wonder of using cyanotypes to capture subtle details and silhouettes.
Pro Tip:
You can do a Google search to find detailed instructions and tutorials to create sun print photos with your kids.
Salt and Glue Painting
You can let your kids try salt and glue paintings, which can be created by gluing salt on paper, covering it with watercolor paint, and drying it.
Your children can investigate the texture formed by salt and how it interacts with paints with this art project.
Wooden Block Printing
You can encourage your kids to do wooden block printing by carefully carving patterns into wooden blocks, inking them, and then transferring the pictures to paper or cloth👔.
As they make repetitive patterns and prints, your children might feel a feeling of concentration and purpose because of the art form.
Sgraffito Techniques
Scratching or cutting through a layer of paint or clay to expose contrasting colors or textures underneath is known as sgraffito.
You can let your children explore how colors and textures interact in their artwork🪛 by using this mindful painting approach.
Paper Mosaics
You can get your kids to tear or cut paper into small pieces for making paper mosaics, which are then arranged to produce mosaic-like patterns🕌 or pictures.
The placement of paper tiles in this art project promotes patience in your kids and allows them to focus on details.
Pressed Flower Collage
Your kids can arrange pressed flowers and leaves on paper to create stunning designs in pressed flower🌼 collages.
Through this nature-inspired activity, I believe our kids can connect with the beauty of plants and express their creativity.
Pro Tip:
You can leave the flowers and leaves between the pages of thick books for a few days to press them. I sometimes press flowers and leaves and keep them for my son to use for art activities and collages like this.
Pencil Shading
You can let your kids consciously shade with a pencil✏️ , which includes using various pressures and strokes to produce hues and gradients.
I suggest you encourage your children to explore light and shadow in their drawings by using this fun sketching method.
Pointillism and Stippling
Your kids can create pictures using small dots or stippling with a pen or brush in this form of pointillism and stippling art.
As your kids construct their artwork with fine and precise strokes, this mindful art approach promotes patience in your kids and improves their attention to detail.
Shadow Drawing
You can let your kids draw✍🏼 shadows, which requires paying attention to and tracing the shadows of things in daylight.
With the help of this exercise, your kids may learn to appreciate how light and shadow interact, which can help them develop a stronger sense of awareness of the current moment and its surroundings.
Collagraph Printmaking
I recommend you introduce your kids to collagraph printmaking, which is the creation of textured printing plates from a variety of materials.
Your children can investigate texture and pattern while understanding how distinctive each print is with this printing method.
Papier-Mâché Sculptures
By carefully stacking paper and glue, your kids can create papier-mâché three-dimensional works of art.
You can encourage your kids to participate in sculpting and shaping their sculptures via this tactile art exercise📠.
Art with Oil Pastel and Acrylic Paint
I suggest you let your children make detailed and bright art🖼 by carefully blending oil pastels🖊 and acrylic paint.
They can experiment with how the colors combine and the expressive capabilities of each medium.
Sand Painting
Sand painting involves applying colored sand to create patterns and pictures.
You can encourage your children to concentrate on the sand’s gritty texture and their placement in their artwork by participating in this art exercise.
Fun Fact:
Engaging in mindful art activities is not only enjoyable but also offers a range of benefits for mental well-being and self-expression. It’s a creative way to cultivate mindfulness and find a sense of balance in the midst of a busy world.
Bubble Printing
Bubble printing is the process of making designs on paper by blowing bubbles🫧 in a solution of paint and soap🧼.
This unpredictably entertaining painting exercise encourages pleasure and discovery in your kids.
Art with Gel Plate Printing
I guarantee your kids will love doing gel plate printing, which involves applying acrylic paint on a gel plate, which is then transferred to paper or fabric to produce mono-prints.
This printing method celebrates unexpected outcomes and promotes exploration in your kids.
Gouache and Watercolors
Let your children explore opaque and translucent effects in their artwork by carefully blending watercolors🎨 and gouache. They can produce distinctive textures by observing the interaction of various paint consistencies🌁.
Pro Tip:
I sometimes give my son reference pictures to try and recreate when he is out of ideas.
Acrylic Pouring on Stones
You can get your children to pour and manage acrylic paint on smooth stones while being conscious as they do so, producing vibrant and distinctive designs.
Through this tactile art experience, your children can experience nature and the feel of various stones.
Layered Watercolor Painting
Let your kids use multiple layers🗞 of watercolor to create richer colors and textures in layered watercolor paintings.
You can encourage your children to see how their art gradually changes as a result of this artistic approach🖌.
Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Painting
I recommend you make your children paint with watercolors on wet paper💧 using the wet-on-wet technique, enabling the colors to merge and flow naturally.
This practice promotes flexibility and a willingness to let the watercolors flow as they will🖌.
Recycled Plastic Bottle Sculptures
I recommend guiding your kids in making sculptures out of recycled plastic bottles🧴 to recycle trash into works of art.
While experimenting with three-dimensional paintings, this environmentally responsible♻️ art project helps your kids be aware of their environmental influence.
Torn Paper Landscapes
Let your kids create landscapes with torn paper pieces that are textured and layered by ripping or cutting✂️ paper.
You can encourage your children to participate in this art activity by arranging the pieces of torn paper🧻 to create unique artwork.
My son enjoys tearing sheets of paper to prepare for this activity.
Pro Tip:
You can use various colored papers and old newspapers to make the landscapes.
Wire Sculptures
You can guide your kids to carefully bend and manipulate wires to make wire sculptures as three-dimensional works of art🛜.
You can encourage your children to study the flow and flexibility of the wire with this tactile art technique.
Clay and Coil Techniques
You can make your kids try their hands at clay and coil methods, which include shaping clay into jars or sculptures by rolling and coiling it🍥.
I would say that this is an effective way for kids to learn patience and develop their concentration as they mold the clay for this practical art activity.
Pressed Leaf Printing
Pressed leaf printing is a method of making prints inspired by nature by pressing leaves and using them as stamps🍁, and your kids will enjoy doing this art activity.
Your children can learn about nature while also exploring the tiny intricacies of leaves🍂 with this art activity.
Stone or Pebble Mandalas
I recommend you encourage your kids to mindfully place stones🪨 and pebbles to create circular and symmetrical patterns to create mandalas.
My son loves experimenting with different layouts with stones and pebbles to create unique mandala patterns.
Pro Tip:
You can get your kids to paint and decorate the stones and pebbles to make colorful mandalas with a personal touch of their art.
Conclusion
The possibility for self-expression🗣, relaxation☺️, and sensory engagement is enhanced by mindful creative activities👨🎨. These activities have helped my children grow an artistic touch in them🎭.
You can try these activities with your child to get a free relaxing weekend, too.💬
Comment below with how your child reacted to such activities, and do let us know if you do any of them with your little ones👇.
I’m a former teacher (and mother of Two Childs) with a background in child development. I’m here to help you with play-based learning activities and crafts for kids ages 0 – 8. ( Cledemy.com is my Next startup on Pre to 8th Grade Printable and Worksheet Education Resources)
