Want to release your little one’s inner artist this summer?

For Petit Collage, drawing can mean so much more than pencils and paper. Children can really thrive when they have a variety of items to draw with and draw on.

Here are 10 alternative drawing activities for parents and their little ones to try out this summer, and beyond!

1) Design First, Draw Later!

Encourage them to design their masterpiece first! It's a great way of flexing their creative muscles and getting them talking about art.

Our Design + Draw Sets allow kids to mix and match cards to create all sorts of combinations, and then bring their designs to life with a drawing pad. At around the age of 3½, children may start to have a plan for what they’re drawing, so this can be a really great opportunity to get them to talk through their process!

2) Pavement Art

Chalk is fun! Why not make some drawings on the pavement for the other children in your neighborhood to admire? Better still - make it interactive by drawing a hopscotch grid, or an obstacle course. You can even extend the fun by making and designing your own chalk.

3) Paint on Bark

This bark painting craft is a lot of fun, and will be a great way to learn about trees, too! You'll need to go out and find a tree that sheds bark (like a sycamore or a birch tree). Take some strips home with you and get out the paints! You'll see that each piece of bark has its own unique shape that will lend itself to a certain design.

4) Stencil Fun

Stencils are great for learning how to form those perfect shapes! They help little ones to manoeuvre vertical, horizontal and circular strokes. And it's even better if you don't have to use paper...

Our Magic Sketch Boards are all the stencil fun you'll need - and you can use them over and over! You'll get 5 stencils to choose from for guided doodling, and once you've finished for the day, you can clear your drawing and free up the board for your next masterpiece!

5) Vegetable Print Art

Asparagus? Broccoli? Celery? Yes please! Get them excited about vegetables and make some wonderful print paintings with 10 different vegetables following this guide! It's fun, messy and super creative. You'll have some really great prints to decorate your walls, too!

6) Hand Animals

Did you know you could turn your hand into... a beautiful bird? A lobster? A cheeky bunny? Simply trace around your hand and let your imagination run wild! Here are 13 animals you can make appear in an instant!

7) Grid Copy Puzzle

This one's great for older kids. Build a drawing up piece by piece with a grid copy puzzle, like this Turtle Grid Puzzle! This is a great way of inadvertently practising counting skills, copying and concentration - whilst having lots of fun.

If they want a real challenge, how about trying to copy a real puzzle, bit by bit?! First complete the puzzle, then try to draw it! We have all kinds of puzzles, from Beginner Puzzles, to our beautiful, inspiring 24 Piece Puzzles. Good luck!

8) Leaf Printing

Connect to nature through your art! Collect some freshly fallen leaves, dip them into some green paint and print them onto a large sheet of paper. You can use different shades of green to make a beautiful, rich foliage. You can add some beautiful flower buds on top, too! Check out this video at 0:36

9) Experiment with Paper Shapes

Who said paper has to be square? Sometimes, something as little as changing the shape of paper can change the way they draw, and bring out all sorts of creative ideas! Place a really, really long strip of paper on the floor and they may be inspired to draw a road, or a train, or a flight path. Or give them a circle of paper and see what they come up with!

10) Create an Animal Kingdom!

Get a really big piece of paper and encourage them to draw a kingdom for their favorite cuddly toys to live in! Discuss what sort of environment they'd be happiest in (a forest? a jungle?) and get drawing, using the toys as props. They'll be very happy to have found their home!

If you want to discuss which animals live where before doing this, check out our Animal Kingdom Card Game, where you have to collect sets of animals that live in the same location to win.This should prepare them nicely for their creation!

Petit Collage's mission is to design beautiful products that are long lasting, high quality and enhance the environment in which our children learn and grow.