KidArtLit Box

KidArtLit (https://www.kidartlit.com/) is a box subscription that contains a carefully selected hardcover picture book and art activities to accompany it. It is the creation of Megan Lingo of ChickadeeLit (http://www.chickadeelit.com/) and Julia Linsteadt of Cut Out Studios (http://www.cutoutskids.com/) Megan is mother to 3, veteran reading teacher and Educational Therapist and Julia is a mother of 2, artist and runs a mobile art studio. My background is as an educator who loves books- I used them to teach everything- from math to visual art, from music to crafting a story. I can see the beauty of a well-written, multilayered book that generates discussion and debate or alters our view on a topic. Illustrations can draw the reader into the world created by the words of the book and spark our own artistic exploration of the techniques used. There is so much research to support that early reading experiences affect academic success throughout one’s life. For my own children it has opened their imagination, particularly in their own writing. It has developed their sense of voice and reading books is a nightly ritual- one where the children associate snuggling together, diving into a literary world.

Being ethical is important to me, so I would only recommend something that I truly feel is valuable to other families. (This is not a paid or sponsored post). In reading the booklet that accompanies each subscription box, it is evident to me that this was a thoughtful process that Megan and Julia went through to select the text and create ideas to go along with it. One of my favourite teachers in I.B. English created a series of projects for us to do throughout high school, exploring various texts. This brought the literature to life and Megan and Julia do exactly that where the children create their own journey after reading the book. (This month’s choice was “A River” by Marc Martin). The box comes with good quality materials to create with and lands on your door step each month- which is perfect for families: a pre-made, accessible and informative way to explore literature created by two people who have the background experience to assure that it is developmentally appropriate. I was impressed!

Along with the book, the box contained a booklet that describes the text, the power of a read aloud and how to ask questions to improve your children’s understanding of the text and how it relates to them. It gives tips for how to set up a creating space and provides the materials to explore loose parts play (which lends to a future understanding of design principles), how to use markers as a painting material, how to create a pastel resist and using tissue paper as a dye transfer- all being put together for a stunning project!

As the book relates to taking a journey, after reading the narrative our daughter was able to immediately scaffold this to her own environment using the questions in the booklet- she created her boat travelling, observing the Northern Lights that we are privileged to catch painting the sky here in various parts of Canada. The use of the box was genius, creating a shadow box or theatre feel to the project. Plus, we haven’t found bleeding tissue paper here in Canada yet, so this was new to us! We honestly can’t wait for the next box to come! We can’t recommend this subscription box enough!

Loose Parts Exploration