Explore the creative arts all day long—music, art, performance and dance—with these ideas.

Create a Masterpiece

Get creative with these art projects.

Magnet Painting:

  • Magnet wand
  • Various metal and non-metal items
  • Paper
  • Plastic tray or box
  • Tempera paint
  • Cups or palette
  • Spoons

Pour paint into something deep enough for the metal pieces. Cut the paper to fit your tray or box. Dip the metal in the paint and drop it into the tray. Move the magnet wand under the tray to roll the metal along the paper.

Raised Salt Painting:

  • Card stock
  • Squeeze bottle of glue
  • Table salt
  • Liquid watercolors
  • Paint brushes or droppers

Make a design or picture on the card stock with the glue. Sprinkle salt over the glue until thoroughly covered. Tip to let excess salt fall away. Add paint with a paint brush, dropper or pipette over the salt-covered lines. The paint will travel in both directions. Let dry thoroughly, which may take a day or two.

Window Paint:

  • 1 cup hand soap or dish soap
  • ½ cup cornstarch
  • Food coloring
  • Sponges

Mix ingredients together to make paint. Have the kids paint on the window with sponges. Because this is made of soap, it will be easy to clean up once your kids are finished creating. Or maybe have them spread the cheer with a sweet message or drawing for the neighbors.

Rainbow Pour Painting:

  • Acrylic paint
  • Terra cotta pots (or other paintable objects)
  • Tape

Tape up the bottom of the pot. Squirt paint on the bottom of the pot, directly in the middle. Continue with different paints until you have the look you want. When the paint is dry, flip the pot and clean up the lip of the pot with paint.

Who Wants to Create a Game Show?

Have your kids design and perform their own game show. They can create what kind of game show it is: trivia, puzzle, word, physical or performance. How will a contestant win points? What are the prizes? Decorate the set. Decide what “props” are required, like a spinner, cards, a timer or obstacles. When the kids have the game show figured out, you’ll act as the contestant while your kids are the hosts. If your kids are older, they may want to take turns operating as the camera man, recording your stint on the “show.”

Show Stopper

Break a leg! Have the kids create and put on their own play. Let them raid the closets for set pieces, costumes, props and whatever else they’ll need to transport their audience to a new place. If your kids are stuck, help them get started with a random short sentence from Story Starter.

Musical Composition

Explore making music with the help of your own instruments. Make an outdoor music station with old metal items with help from And Next Comes L, tin can drums with Red Ted Art and a guitar from a cereal box with My Teaching Station.

Play a music game. Grab Encore, Spontuneous or Sing for Your Supper from the hallway closet, or create your own trivia games, quizzing your kids on terms, instruments, song titles, musicals and their favorite musicians.

Rap or sing a children’s rhyming book. Check out Ludacris rapping “Llama Llama Red Pajama” or Brittany Snow and Anna Camp singing “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover” for inspiration.

Travel through musical history with this series from Silver Dolphin Books.

Dance Break

Using kid-friendly songs, have your kids choreograph a dance routine to teach to their siblings.

If you have Just Dance, compete for the highest score.

Check out YouTube for dance videos for kids. Pinkfong has exercise and dance videos. Saskia’s Dansschool has easy routines for kids set to pop music. The Kiboomers has dance videos for younger kids.

Take a virtual dance class.

Inspire kids with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Creative Combination

Combine art and music with this fun activity. Play a setlist of songs, and with each song, the kids will create an artwork depicting how the song makes them feel with lines, shapes, colors and whatever else inspires them. Play songs with different tempos and from different genres.

Photography Challenge

Explore the elements of art with a photography scavenger hunt. The elements of art are: line, shape, form, value, space, color and texture. Have the kids take photos of objects in the house and yard that represent these elements. For example, a bright yellow dandelion for color or the living room rug for texture. For a refresher on the elements of art, see this post.

Travel Virtually

Go on a virtual field trip to a performance, concert or museum.

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