My latest masterpiece – a toy farm house! What my son learned from craft day at home | Art and design

There is a book about Miffy – a white rabbit created by the Dutch author Dick Bruna – to a museum that I can recite by heart. An art critic friend of mine sent it to my son shortly after he was born; before the leaves were not white, now they are curled and torn. Another Miffy book on our shelves (people’s favorite) follows her as she makes half a dozen pictures at home, and, at the end of the day, puts them on the wall. “Looks good, Miffy,” says Mama Bunny. “It’s your museum.” A very old museum in his house.

We have visited museums and galleries all over the country. We have been brave enough to enter families and museums created with digital technology. We are lucky – very lucky – that there is good art being offered out there. But what about those days when it’s easier to stay at home? Days when it rains or trains are canceled or your child refuses to wear socks and shoes. Can we teach young children art without carrying a changing bag, preparing snacks and bedtime and jumping in the car or on the tube?

To answer this question, today I will be at home with my little boy making and looking at art, from the moment he wakes up in his room. On its walls are three playful paintings by artist Moira Frith, and a William Nicholson print of the Velveteen Rabbit. On the roof there is an elephant walking with a bee and Japanese paper balloons. Don’t forget the crab plate with a picture of jelly on the plate. When it comes to decorating kids’ rooms, it’s more, I tell my husband.

It’s 6.30am, and the boy is in our bed now, surrounded by books, specially chosen to match the current theme. All is well – we pass one and two Miffy, Mildred the Gallery Cat and a board book about color mixing – when she sees her plastic tractor in the room and begs to be released. No skill can stop this young man from walking.

For anyone worried that the poor kid is being fed art like a goose, fear not – they have pets too (do you remember piggy?) and countless toys and teddies. Art is not compulsory in our house, but it is part of the furniture – in paintings and drawings and paintings on the walls, and books on the shelves. Sometimes he likes to look at those books, especially the latest addition to dogs in history. Sometimes, they really like the black box below them: “Peppa Peppa! Piggy Piggy!”

One One of the beautiful things about children is that they have no idea of ​​leadership in matters that require skill. Which means anything goes. In the morning we build a farm animal house using beautiful magnetic tiles. Build wooden blocks before sending them flying. Pressing the stickers, one on top of the other, to a small piece of a large, blank page. All that before we get to the crayons.

If you’re wondering what time it is, it’s 9.50. You might think it’s easy to stay home with a baby, but, my God, the day can drag. Somehow, we manage to save it until lunch, having a little fun trying the chalk sticks along the way – fun! But when lunch was over, and he was asleep, we were all eager to get away.

Lucky for us, we’re right next door to the William Morris Gallery, which my son knows, simply, as “the gallery”. She comes here almost every Wednesday with her grandmother. First, they go to the nearby playground, then they hang out with the ducks in the park. At the cafe, they share a cheese toastie. Every time she goes out to visit, she meets a museum worker named Keith. “Keith upstairs,” my son tells me as we walk through the door (I’ve never met Keith, so maybe he only works on Wednesdays, or it’s just a myth of my son’s – and mother’s – mind).

When he first came to William Morris, my son had to be carried up the stairs; now he can ride them himself. They wait for him at the landing with crayons like the ones we have at home, and blank sheets of paper to write on. Wooden structures. Soft toys and dolls. Books. All with an arty backdrop.

Of course you can introduce young children to drawing at home, and there will be times when it’s much easier than getting out of the house. But if you’re lucky enough to have a public space nearby – a museum or museum or even the local library – that can be integrated into your home life as well. We were within walking distance of the Miffy Museum. Maybe we will take the little one to Utrecht for his second birthday.

Three books for bringing art into the home

Miffy the Artist by Dick Bruna (also, Miffy at the Gallery, and Miffy and the Artists)

Popular Art to Color by Susan Meredith