FAQs

Big Ideas Art Studio is 100% child-centered, process-based, inclusive, and comprehensive. Each child will create their own art, using their own ideas, while being supported and guided during a live class or by a collection of resources carefully curated into a membership-based virtual art studio.  Most programs focus on the creation of easy-to-reproduce 2D artworks (which is great if that’s what your child needs), but here at Big Ideas, we’re flipping the script by asking kids to step into the role of the artist, generate their own ideas and then bring those ideas to life in whatever 2D or 3D media makes sense to them. Additionally, Big Ideas Art Studio focuses are the entire process of making art including play and experimentation, idea generation, documentation, sharing, and connecting to the contemporary art world. Our instruction is about more than making pretty pictures, here we’re learning how to be artists.

I created my classes and membership based on my experience with elementary-aged kids. However, both can be used for slightly younger children and upper-elementary preteens depending on individual development, skill-level, and needs.

The studio itself is organized into green, yellow, and pink categories. Green tutorials are for beginning artists, yellow tutorials are a bit more difficult. They are geared toward developing artists, while pink tutorials are more advanced and will require some basic skills to be in place.

Kids who’ve developed reading skills will be able to access and use the site independently. There are voice-over audio options on some pages (eventually all pages) to help pre-readers, but they might still require adult assistance navigating the virtual studio and finding what they need.

With all that being said, the best way to figure out if this program is right for your kid is to give it a try!

View Sample Lessons Here.

Yes, the class/membership price includes all children in one household. When you purchase a membership specifically, you’ll be asked to provide individual names so I have an idea of who’s who!

For the membership, whatever you have available is enough to get started. From there, you can purchase materials that pique your child’s interest during the video demonstrations, or you can ask your child to get creative using the materials you have available. I have students who work only with pencil and paper, some who are sculpture lovers and work only with recyclables taken from the kitchen, and some who prefer materials like pastels and paints – it all depends on your child. Regardless, buying new materials isn’t a necessity. 

For live classes, a list of necessary materials will be provided.

With all that being said, many of the tutorials and lessons provided in the Art Club area come with printable resources and activities. So while it’s not a necessity, having access to a printer is helpful.

If you are looking for new materials, you can find all of my favorite art supplies for kids here.

The art process is sometimes messy. With that being said, I’ve created resources available within the membership portal to help you and your child maintain a clean work area. Also, it’s okay to limit access to certain materials based on your personal tolerance for mess as there are plenty of options within the how-to libraries that don’t require messy materials. Remember, it’s important to express and reinforce your own expectations regarding materials and cleaning up! Feel free to reach out to me if you need any guidance in this area!

Yes! Directed drawings can be a fantastic way for some kids to learn how to draw and to build confidence. At Big Ideas, I’ll include my own directed-drawing PDFs for those kids, but we’ll also learn how to take those drawings, add our own creative voice, and make them our own.

While accessing the skill libraries, you won’t have to worry about your child stumbling onto something they shouldn’t or becoming distracted with advertisements. Not only that, but YouTube doesn’t offer a comprehensive art education, printable activities, an Inspiration Station, or the support of an artistic community!

Art teachers use these terms when describing the type of instruction they offer. Traditionally, art instruction has been teacher-directed and product-driven, meaning the teacher created an art lesson based on skills, topics, or artists they wanted to teach, and then walked students through the creation process, leading them to a curated result. Child-centered means placing the child in the role of the artist and asking them to use their own ideas. Process-based means focusing on the process of making art rather than the product, or the actual art. So, in other words, while the product is an important part of making art, it’s not the most important part. The process is where all the magic happens– it’s where our brains light up as we problem-solve, create new connections, and learn in deep, meaningful ways.

Creating a home studio space for kids isn’t necessary, but it could be helpful to dedicate one single space to creating, whether that’s the corner of a room or even the kitchen table. If you’re tight on space, portable centers or even just an “art box” that can be taken out during creation time and neatly stored away is PERFECTLY FINE! Whatever you choose, keeping it simple enough for your artist to work and clean independently is important to the sustainability of your space. In my own home, I keep materials stored in containers on a portable cart that we can wheel to the kitchen table when we’re ready to create. 

At this time, no, but you can still add a bookmark of the log-in page to the home screen of your child’s device so your child can use their art studio independently. Make sure to have “remember me” selected on your log-in page. This way your child can access the studio in a similar way to their other applications.

How-To for Apple Products

Add website shortcuts to your Android phone’s home screen

Open the Chrome browser

Navigate to the bigideasartstudio.com/account

Tap the three-dot menu in the top left corner

Tap “Add to Home screen” and a shortcut icon will appear on your home screen

A weekly challenge is an open-ended prompt meant to give kiddos a starting point for creative art-making.

Weekly challenges are posted every Monday at noon EST in the Inspiration Station section of the Art Studio (unless it’s a holiday, then it will be posted on the following business day). They come with a brief tutorial and explanation of the challenge for the week and often include supplementary printables to assist kiddos in completing the challenge. There are over 6o challenges in the Big Ideas vault, with more added as inspiration hits. If you’re around long enough, you may see a challenge twice – complete it again! It’s a great opportunity to observe growth!

For teachers, the Weekly Challenges come with an editable Canva template complete with printable materials for display purposes. Since time is of the essence in most elementary art classrooms and dedicating instruction time to a Weekly Challenge isn’t always feasible, the link includes access to printables and QR codes that can be simply posted in a consistent, prominent location in the classroom so students know where to look if they need ideas. The bundle also includes Mini QR codes to pass out for interested students to take home and complete the challenge on their own time.

Below is a link to an example:

Alphabet Challenge Editable Teacher Bundle by Nicole McAfoose

Each live workshop or class comes with access to a private dashboard. The dashboards are complete with recorded lessons in the event that a live class is missed.