My favorite part of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) is the “A” for Art. There are so many cool ideas and websites that are out there, that your child will have plenty to choose from this summer.
STEM + Art = STEAM
Does your child like reading comics? Maybe they doodle a lot. They would love the website Make Beliefs Comix. The mission of the website is to empower your child to convey their ideas and stories in comics. This is a good site for middle-grade kids.
Scrap Coloring is not only for coloring but also for those that might want to try their hand at origami or making some greeting cards. On Scrap Coloring your child will find coloring pages, origami tutorials, digital scraps to color with, and even a place where they can convert their original drawings and photos to coloring pages. A very fun site; one that will entertain all ages.
Another good website is Easy Drawing Guides for the kids who want to learn to draw but aren’t too sure where to start. From animals to flowers to people, there are over 1,000 drawing tutorials on this site. For all ages, even the grown-ups!
Your child doesn’t have to go to Washington, D.C. to navigate the Smithsonian Museums. The interactive Smithsonian Learning Lab will take your child there. The Learning Lab has close to 7,000 collections and 5.5 million resources to explore. Your child can explore portraits, music, fashion, architecture, and much, much more. Most of the collections are geared toward middle school and high school kids with a few elementary school collections. Be sure to take a tour of the site before delving in; it will show you how to view the collections.
The last website I will recommend, IncredibleArt, is not only for kids, but art educators also. Full of activities and art games for kids, it also has numerous art links for even more education and fun with art.
Now that you have all these resources, let your child loose to create and then hang their artwork on your refrigerator to admire. Have an artful day!
