When you were little, what kinds of art did you do? My art education was pretty standard for the time. We used watercolors, crayons, and learned a few paper craft kinds of things. The book Art Lab for Kids by Susan Schwake has plenty of standard art experiences, but it offers even more to do and explore in the wide, wide world of art.
Best of all, the focus on each project (there are 52 in total) is not perfection but the experience of making the art itself.
Some of my favorite art activities in Art Lab for Kids include a lesson on drawing "Dream Animals" that is amazingly effective at sparking creativity! There is also a mixed media project of creating larger-than-life portraits using magazine pictures.
The wide variety of mediums and types of projects lends itself well to users of all ages and ability levels. Because of this variety, the author does not suggest purchasing all of the materials at once, but to purchase small batches of supplies as needed. Also, you probably have many of the materials on hand already. These projects lend themselves well to substitution. Remember, this is art, and real art is personalized! Make it your own and enjoy both the process and the results. Your children will, too!
Other art books for children worth investigating include: 500 Kids Art Ideas by Gavin Andrews and Art With Anything by MaryAnn F. Kohl, both of which the Tulsa City-County Library owns.
Melody Palmer, Youth Librarian, South Broken Arrow Library