With School Holidays around the corner it never hurts to have a few extra activities up your sleeve to ready to fill an afternoon. The school holidays provide a special window of opportunity for kids to get creative! It’s when I see lots of kids perfectly happy to take their time drawing, painting and making art that they wouldn’t normally have the time or energy to finish. Here is a list of my 8 FREE & FUN art projects for your kids to complete these holidays. There is a bit of everything for kids of all ages from finger painting, drawing, collage, painting and process art. To make the most of these art projects I always like to prep my materials ahead of time and have them set them up ready to go when my kids wake up or during that afternoon-lull.

This art booklet includes drawing, painting and collage skills, while also resulting in a beautiful 3D masterpiece that can take centre stage on your mantel piece, dining room table or as a gift.

Children love colour and pattern, and this project delivers plenty of both! For a crafty-noon of arty fun you can create your own cardboard mandala design using simple craft supplies and recycled materials. As the weather warms up and the flowers start to bloom; you could also take a garden walk and collect nature finds for a beautiful natural mandala design.

There's nothing like drawing a cute animal wearing a flower crown! In this draw-along video Little Artists learn how to draw a simple fox and bunny. Little Artists can select different flower designs for a spring crown (or maybe a top hat?!) and playful geometric patterns for a fun, colourful sweater.

I can assure you that finger-painting is NOT just for toddlers. Creative kids (and me too!) love the sensory texture of paint on their fingers tips. This lesson will encourage your child to learn about nature and the environment, while promoting aesthetic awareness and building important fine motor skills.

This animal project is perfect for Little Artists to be introduced to painting, printing and pattern making. Create a whale, a racoon or a cheeky squirrel in the style of UK artist Clare Youngs.

Shaving cream prints keep even the most fidgety kid entertained. The marbled effect watercolour suspended in shaving cream is completely magical. As the weather gets warmer this is a great sensory art process to set up outside.

Do you have a little mermaid lover at home? Tin foil prints are a no-fail art activity that surprises all kids. The blended texture created is great for under the sea drawings, like Mermaids and Rainbow Fish. Find free drawing printables on the blog.

Abstract painting means you don’t need to worry about “getting it perfect”. Follow along this free video art lesson and create abstract art just like the Master Artist Wassily Kandinsky.