40 of the Best Art Projects for Kids

Art is a true passion for me! And it’s something I KNOW your kids are going to love. Here are the very best art projects for kids. This list is sure to get those creative juices flowing! Use this set of 28 Days of STEM Activities and STEAM Activities for Kids posts to excite the kids all year long. Whether you’re in the mood for process art, arts integration projects, or recycled art, there’s definitely something here for everyone.

Your kids will love this collection of art projects for kids! You'll find everything you need for cool art projects and simple art lessons for kids. Process art, arts integration projects, recycled art, and more. Many using arts and crafts materials you already have at home.

Your kids will love this collection of art projects for kids! You'll find everything you need for cool art projects and simple art lessons for kids. Process art, arts integration projects, recycled art, and more. Many using arts and crafts materials you already have at home.

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Art Projects for Kids

I’m the daughter of an engineer and a painter and Left Brain Craft Brain was my own creative outlet after growing up in an amazingly creative household. I know how essential art is for development and creativity in kids. I hope you use this awesome list of all types of art projects to help your kids grow their art abilities beyond their imaginations!

What is Process Art? Process Art Projects

What in the world is process art? Process art is something kids will LOVE! Process art focuses on the how of art, not the end product. There are no right or wrong ways to experience process art, just the enjoyment of creating. It’s a great way to integrate movement and creativity in your art lessons for kids. 

Gelli Printing – An Easy Art Project You’ll Want to Do || Left Brain Craft Brain – This is one of the those craft activities that takes a little investment, but you can use over and over again!

Bubble Painting with Dry Ice || The Science Kiddo – Have you tried this? It’s a must for your next spring art activity!

String Art || Babble Dabble Do – Can you believe a little bit of string transformed this simple painting?

Collaborative Circle Painting to Build Community || Kids STEAM Lab – Add this amazing art lesson to your after school creative time.

Fizzy Drip Painting || Capri +3 – I love how easy it is to set this up! I know I have everything I need to make this happen today!

process art projects for kids

Tissue Paper Sensory Art || Left Brain Craft Brain – If you need a quick preschool art project, give this one a try.

Tube Painting Gross Motor Art Project  || Left Brain Craft Brain – Sometimes kids painting can be pretty messy. This is an awesome way to contain the mess.

Slime Drawings || Left Brain Craft Brain – This is one of the coolest drawing ideas I have ever made! The kids are going to love it!

Melted Crayon Stained Glass || The Artful Parent – Do you remember doing this as a kid? Melted crayon is always a classic.

Painting With Nature || Left Brain Craft Brain – Next time you are planning an arts and crafts activity, plan to use a little pieces of nature!

process art projects for kids

Arts Integration Projects

Art integration projects are my favorite. Why should art be integrated into the curriculum? It’s why we focus on STEAM so much on Left Brain Craft Brain instead of just STEM. Adding in art triggers another level of creativity in young minds. Get the kids’ creative juices flowing with some amazing art projects that have some science, math, and engineering built right in.

Five Minute Crafts: Magnet Painting || Left Brain Craft Brain – We have done this activity MANY times and it’s always a huge hit with the kids. Check out this video to see it in action.

Art Equals Science Paint Solubility Projects for Kids || Left Brain Craft Brain – Grab your box of paints for this simple science experiment.

Mystery Grid Art Challenge || Pink Stripey Socks – Such a fun idea for your STEAM lesson time.

Frog Life Cycle Pom Pom Craft for Nature Studies || Adventure in a Box – Looking for fun spring art ideas? Add this one to the list.

Glow in the Dark Moon Phases Mobile || Left Brain Craft Brain – This is one of those craft activities that will stay on the wall for months!

arts integration projects for kids

Chromatography Art Project || Buggy and Buddy – Teach kids about the cool science of chromatography when you make this weaving project.

Color Mixing with Coding for Preschool Kids || iGame Mom – I love the idea of adding in technology to your next art projects for kids.

Prism Play and Chalk Art || Left Brain Craft Brain – We use this as one of your go to art lessons for kids!

Rainbow Geometry Painting || Left Brain Craft Brain – I can’t get over how beautiful the colors are in this project!

Five Minute Crafts: Play Dough Petroglyphs || Left Brain Craft Brain – Another great preschool art idea for your youngest STEAM kids.

arts integration projects for kids

More Arts Integration Projects!

Metal Art STEAM Project || STEAM Powered Family – Beautiful! This is one of those cool art projects the kids won’t soon forget.

Geometric Math Art with Circles || Teach Beside Me – I can’t believe what an easy math art activity this is! And totally relaxing, too.

Bird Art Sculptures || One Time Through – If you’re planning some nature lessons for kids, don’t forget to add in your own bird sculptures.

Five Minute Crafts: Kandinsky for Kids || Left Brain Craft Brain – Teach your kids art history with a simple art lesson. It makes another great lesson in geometry, too.

Math Coloring Book || Left Brain Craft Brain (coming soon!) – Learn about how math intertwines with nature with these beautiful coloring pages.

arts integration projects for kids

Recycled Art Projects

Do you have a recycle bin overflowing with materials? Before you put those items out for recycling, think about all the amazing recycled art projects you can do. This is an awesome budget-friendly way to add STEAM to your learning every week.

Recycled Plastic Flowers Are and Science Projects || Left Brain Craft Brain – This is pretty much the prettiest science experiment we’ve ever done.

Egg Carton Flowers || I Heart Arts n’ Crafts – Such a beautiful way to use your old egg cartons.

Upcylced Toy Car Marker Bots || Left Brain Craft Brain – Don’t throw away your old toy cars. There’s still some fun left in them!

Recycled Water Bottle Garden Art || Happy Hooligans – Dig into your recycle bin to make amazing art to decorate your spring garden!

Paper Weaving || Babble Dabble Do – What cool recycled paper can you find for this fun weaving project?

recycled art projects for kids

Got some carboard to use up? You’ll love these Cereal Box Crafts, too!

cereal box crafts

Five Minute Crafts (and Five Minute Art Too!)

I’m going to admit that I always have a couple five minute crafts ready to go anytime at home. It’s a great away to set up a creative space quickly AND give some extra stimulation to your creative kids. All with little time invested.

Blind Contour Drawings || Art Bar – Challenge the kids to this fun drawing challenge!!

Earth Melted Crayon Rocks Craft || Left Brain Craft Brain – Another amazing spring art idea to add to your art projects for kids.

Gorgeous Spin Art Hearts Painting Activity for Kids || Left Brain Craft Brain – This was a spur of the moment idea that the kids will love.

Painted Feathers || Figment Creative Labs – We did this activity in my daughter’s class and the kids loved it!

Easy Fish Origami || Red Ted Art – This project is a great introduction into the art of origami!

five minute crafts and five minute art projects for kids

Be sure to check out our whole Five Minutes Crafts category on Left Brain Craft Brain!

Holiday Art Projects

Here’s just a quick selection of some fun holiday art projects for kids.

Five Minute Crafts: Pumpkin Pie Painting || Left Brain Craft Brain – We do a lot of holiday art around our house and this one is one of my favorites.

Rainbow Shamrock Art Project for St. Patrick’s Day || Rhythms of Play – This project is perfect for your STEAM kids! Such a cool process.

Process Art Scrape Painting with Bunny Silhouettes || Projects with Kids – These are adorable and the perfect process art idea for your next spring art activity!

Valentine Process Art Projects || Left Brain Craft Brain – So many beautiful ideas to show others how much you care!

Easter Egg Roll & Paint || Busy Toddler – Such a great idea for using all those plastic eggs with the littles.

Five Minute Crafts: Tape Resist Glitter Forest || Left Brain Craft Brain – We have made several versions of this project over the year. It’s so easy to set up and they always come out beautiful!

holiday art projects for kids

And check out this HUGE list of Valentine Process Art for Kids.

Valentine Process Art Projects for Kids

Looking for some more STEAM inspiration that you can use right now? Instant gratification style? Check out STEAM Explorers!! The coolest creative experience for kids is here! It's a digital book of the month club filled with tons of fun stuff for the kids to do and learn. All engineer, teacher, and mom-approved. And most definitely KID APPROVED!⁣

What’s included?⁣

  • A monthly digital magazine with cool themes that are fun to read
  • Hands-on, exciting projects the kids will love.⁣
  • Science, tech, engineering, art, and math learning YOU’LL love.⁣
  • Delicious recipes the kids can make.⁣
  • Fun printables and games⁣

Join us as we make some music in March!! All in the name of having fun with STEAM, of course. We’re exploring sound waves and animal ears and of course, music through hands-on projects the kids will love. The kids will love creating their own rhythms, testing sound with spoons, seeing sound waves with salt, amping up their ear power with paper, and so much more! You’ll love the helpful standards-based learning, printables, and tools that make STEAM exploration easy! 

We’ve split the issue into four weekly themes:

  • This issue has four weekly themes to inspire your kiddos:
  • WEEK 1: MAKING NOISE
  • WEEK 2: SEEING SOUND
  • WEEK 3: HEARING NATURE
  • WEEK 4: CREATING MUSIC

28 Days of STEM Activities and STEAM Activities for Kids

These projects are part of an amazing, month-long series of hands on STEM and STEAM projects for kids. Click on over to 28 Days of STEM Activities and STEAM Activities for Kids for 60+ FREE science, tech, engineering, art, and math projects from 30+ education writers. All ready to get your kids excited to learn.

28 days of STEAM and STEAM activities for kids

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