ISO art supplies for one year old

[Mommy Of A Little Angel]

DD loves pens and Sharpies and tries to "write" with them. I want to get her some fun art supplies, but I am not sure what is appropriate for her age. I was thinking the color wonders, but I am not sure if she is too young. I am sure she would love finger paints, but again I want to find something she can handle. Any suggestions?

[kayte]

I have a one year old too.... I highly recommend reading Young at Art--it really helped me understand how to make choices for materials and activities.

My dd is 16 months ---here's what we do...

We finger paint, in the tub in just DD's diaper. She loves it. We have the crayola washable finger paints. I have even taken a few "prints" of her work by laying a piece of paper down on the paint an peeling it up from the side. When we are done, we just turn on the water, wash out the tub, which DD also loves and then fill it up to wash her.

We paint with water on colored construction paper --I tape a sheet (large size) to the kitchen floor, give her a brush --I found some great ALex brushes that are easy to hold-- and a cup with a little bit of water. She "paints" the paper , which turns a darker color when it is wet. Here is a link to the paint brushes

http://www.kidsurplus.com/pan220bw.html

We color with big chunky crayons with the wrapper pealed off. Usually one or 2 colors at a time. I haven't invested in a really good set of crayons yet. She still tends to nibble on them --so we just have crayolas.

We play with playdough. This is our new favorite.

I personally haven't used the color wonder but my sister who has 2 small children hates them. She says it's gets very greasy and fades rather quickly. I figure for now I contain her where I want her so I can use the real stuff...

HTH


ETA- Here is a link to the book I mentioned

http://tinyurl.com/3xtkkq

And I also bought big sidewalk chalk but she isn't interested---running in the grass is better.

[ellies mom]

I found washable markers were easier for my DD at that age than crayons because they can make marks with less pressure. Finger paints (or even pudding) was fun at that age too.

FWIW, I hate Color Wonders. Ironically, their "fingerpaints" are the one thing I could not get out of DD's clothes. Plus they can discolour wood. And, while I'm complaining about them, unless you get the blank sheets, they really limit the child's creativity. The colouring book sheets aren't covered completely with whatever that stuff is, so they can only put down colour where someone else decided it should go.

I've never had a problem with the regular washable stuff. Of course, I also limit the markers to dining room or kitchen use only. Once my DD outgrew eating crayons, I started keeping crayons out for her use at all times. I used the Crayola Washables for a while and just replaced them every 2-3 months. Then I bought the Beeswax ones and we've had those for 18 months. They aren't as washable as the others but I still haven't had problems. And I keep some of the Crayola Anti-roll crayons in my diaper bags for her to use at restaurants and coffee shops.