drawing implements for 1 year old?

[dmpearls]

hi all--

my daughter, who is one year old today (!) picked up a marker at the library yesterday and pretended to draw, so i sat her down with a piece of paper and opened the marker and she made her first masterpiece.

we are renting a small apartment while our house gets renovated and it has wall to-wall carpeting (with a small galley kitchen), so i bought a big roll of paper for her to have on the carpeted floor. now i am looking for the best (and cleanest) drawing implements for her to use that will be easy on carpet. any suggestions?

i'm so excited-- we're an artsy family and i've been waiting for DD to get into the act!

thanks!

[lizzywednesday]

For kids who I'm afraid might mark on the walls, like my darling nephew (he'll be 4 in May) I supply Crayola Color Wonder markers & paper.

Alternately, Crayola makes a whole line of Washable supplies, from markers to paints, so this might be another option for you to consider, especially with carpet in a rented living space!

And stock up on Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. They're awesome for getting fingerprints and crayon off walls without damaging paint.

[California]

Happy birthday to your DD! My daughter also started to draw around her birthday. She holds a pen beautifully in her tiny little hand. I try to give her crayons, but she really prefers pens. Maybe because the color is darker? She likes the Crayola washables. She also likes to paint. It's easier for her to draw on low surface vs. the ground. She can sit in my lap at our kitchen table and draw, stand next to the coffee table, or stand and draw with the paper sitting on the seat of a kid-sized chair. If you have any of those surfaces you might try that to see if it's easier for her to have the paper on a raised surface vs. the ground.

[wendibird22]

DD liked crayons at that age (the thicker ones). I advise against the Tadoodles line (the big round holders). DD never liked using them and they seemed awkward to hold. We were given both the markers and the crayon versions and she never used either beyond an initial curiosity. I say go straight to regular crayola.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Crayola washable crayons. They make wide ones that are easy to grip but the regular are ok too. I guess the wide ones have the advantage of being harder to break.

Beth

[dmpearls]

thanks, everyone!

i decided to go the washable crayon route for now-- i think that's the cleanest. i will try her sitting at a table, though since half of our stuff is in storage, we only have a nice cherry wood dining room table-- not something i want to mess with. i'll see what else i can come up with.