Put the Kids to Work: Wall Art Projects for Children

Your children can easily become involved in the process of decorating your home in a bright, appealing and eye-catching way. Wall art projects for children will provide your youngsters with an enjoyable activity, making the decoration process less of a chore. Perhaps most importantly, it will allow for some valuable personal bonding time between you and your kids.

How Can You Interest Your Children in Wall Art?

Ideally, the types of art projects that can be shared most easily with your children will be fairly simple, though not so simple that they become bored, disinterested or impatient. Consider having them help you decorate the rooms where they spend the most time, such as their own bedrooms, or a shared family room. Let them assist you in the planning process, in addition to letting them do as much work as possible on the project--while under your careful supervision.

Types of Wall Art Ideas for Children

Some of the projects best-suited to your children's interests, abilities and ages are as follows:

• Glow-in-the-dark painting and drawing: This art project will allow your children to decorate their room in any way they please, since the results will only be visible in the dark. The freedom offered by this project--the ability to draw anything they want--will delight many children. The necessary materials, glow-in-the-dark paint or chalk, can be found in many art supply retail stores.
• Projection murals: To go about this art project, rent or purchase an overhead projector and some transparent film. Draw or paint an image onto the film and project the image onto the wall. You can use chalk to create an outline for your children to paint within, or trust their abilities, although an outline is probably more advisable.
• Sponge painting: Purchase a number of sponges and use a pair of scissors to cut them into various fun shapes--animals, trees, etc. Once finished, dip the sponge pieces in paint and blot them onto paper to remove excess before transferring patterns to the wall.
• Stencils: You can make your own stencils easily with freezer paper or clear acetate. Cut shapes into your material of choice, tape the stencil to the wall and let your children fill in the shaped spaces with paint.

Remember Safety With Children's Wall Art Materials

As fun as these wall art experiences will be, make sure they're safe. When putting together and mounting your wall art projects, use materials that are non-toxic or otherwise safe, like tempera paint, chalk, safety scissors and soft paper. Take care of any steps that require the use of potentially unsafe items yourself and hang delicate wall art on your own.