Drawing Workshop for Kids: Process Art Experiences for Building Creativity and Confidence

Engage children’s natural curiosity with this collection of 25+ process-driven drawing activities exploring essential art concepts and techniques.

In Drawing Workshop for Kids, art educator Samara Caughey, founder of the highly praised family-centered art studio Purple Twig, shares drawing invitations that support the development of creative, confident children ages 7 and up.

For each project, she includes comprehensive guidance: a materials list, step-by-step instructions, suggested prompts, and full-color photographs of the process and finished examples.

Quick warm-up activities using simple materials help kids loosen up and build confidence. Drawing workshops offer deeper, layered explorations that introduce new materials, concepts, and techniques.

These highly engaging yet low-pressure projects encourage multi-sensory observation and creative independence. Children will have fun as they practice:

Creating tones • by filling a page in with charcoal and then using different types of erasers to draw a still-life.

Using their senses • to understand a subject by choosing a fruit and drawing different versions of it as they eat it.

Interpreting foreground and background • by drawing a background world with colored pencils, which they glue to the bottom of a mint tin, and then drawing a foreground subject, which they place near the front of the tin.

Drawing a bird’s eye view • by using their imagination to draw a treasure map in pencil and watercolor.

Focusing on patterns • by drawing colorful feathers with chalk and marker, then cutting them out and pasting them to other shapes to make birds.

With tips for working with groups, a glossary of essential terms, and an overview of recommended materials, this book is a complete resource for creating art with kids.

Whether you are a classroom teacher, a homeschool instructor, a camp organizer, a parent or grandparent looking to engage your kids in a screen-free activity, or even an adult seeking ways to explore your creative side, Drawing Workshop for Kids is your answer and guide to the question, “But what should I draw?”