If you’re a parent and you live in NSW, you’re probably aware that your child, if over the age of four and still at school, is eligible for one free Creative Kids Voucher per calendar year.
That’s $100 to spend on a range of activities and supplies that allow your kid to go crazy with their imagination.
But if you’re a parent in NSW and know of the Creative Kids Voucher, you're also probably quite aware that there are about 487 billion things you can use it on! So how on earth are you supposed to choose?
Enter: A Little Spirit art kits.
You can get one kit completely free when using your Creative Kids Voucher.
And here's the best thing about them: they come in this super cute little canvas bag so that when you’re done using your art supplies, you also have something to stash them in. (Cue parental crowd cheers for lack of art things taking up valuable bench space when not in use.)
They also do all the heavy lifting for you — every material is supplied in the kit so you don't need to worry about dashing to the shop to pick up A, B or C.
We tried out three of the kits and it felt so good to see the little one get into some good ol' fashioned arts and crafts rather than asking to get the iPad out.
Here's our verdict.
1. The Earth Kit
This includes a flower press, air drying clay, a clay moulding tool set and a paper making set.
For someone with a kid who brings back a stack of nature on every walk to the park, the flower press was a very exciting find in our canvas bag.
Miss Six immediately wanted to go outside and find something to put in it, so we marched out into the front garden and found one sad little purple flower (it’s possible it’s actually a weed) and popped it into the press. We intend to do some more flower hunting soon to fill up our press with gorgeous blooms that we can then use to make cards.
The clay was 100% a hit, not just for the kid but for her Dad who was mad keen to make some characters out of it too. Together they made some weird heads which are now staring back at me as they dry on my kitchen windowsill.
2. The Acrylic Paint Set
This paint set includes 24 tubes of acrylic paint, a brush set with its own carry case, an oval wood pallet (so they can look like a total pro), 2 canvas panels and a pad of canvas sheets.
Needless to say, when she found out that all of these paint colours were hers to do so as she wished, the response was pretty great.
I was promoted to paint delivery assistant when we got stuck into this kit, dabbing the colours she required onto the pallet so she could create her masterpiece.
She decided to go with some inspiration she’d experienced while celebrating NAIDOC week at school and used beautiful ochre colours to paint her hands.
The beauty of these paints is they generally wipe off of every surface and are easily washed off various body parts so cleaning up is really simple, but they’re also not watery or dull.
The paints are vibrant and the canvases are great quality so she can make art that we could frame and hang if we wanted to.
3. The Multimedia Set
Now surely this cannot be only $100 in value! It contains a 54 pack of dual markers with a fine point on one end and a thicker one on the other. It also includes 36 colour pencils, a pack of graphite pencils and charcoals, a calligraphy pen set and a visual art diary.
This was the set that sent my 6-year-old daughter into a frenzy.
She immediately pulled up a chair and got to work creating some pretty damn impressive works of art — if this completely biased mother does say so herself.
Now the absolute winner in all this was that when we went out for dinner that night, where she would normally try to negotiate taking her game console with her, she instead packed up her bag with pencils and her art diary, and we continued the creations at the table.
I thought it might have been a one off — that the novelty would wear off as it often does with kids and new things but no, the following day she came home from school and asked if we could paint again.
Then the next day after that, we tried our hand at charcoal drawing.
Another thing I love about A Little Spirit is that the art kits also include a bit of direction too. Sometimes it's hard as a parent to inspire your kids in creating different things, but with these kits, all you have to do is enter the details on the website and it takes you to some information on activity ideas and easy-to-follow instructions. Win!
So if you are looking to spend your NSW Government Creative Kids Voucher to get your child focused on something that doesn’t have a screen (and let’s face it, we’re all fighting that seemingly doomed battle to some degree), A Little Spirit art kits are absolutely a great investment, both in value for that $100 voucher and for the joy your children will get out of the experience.
Now, we’re off to find more flowers for our press. Enjoy!
Get creative with your kids and check out A Little Spirit's range of art kits. Use your NSW Government Creative Kids Voucher to get one kit entirely free.
Feature Image: Supplied/Mamamia.