Art Skills for 2nd Grade || Timberdoodle Curriculum Kit Review

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Whether your student is artistic or not, the art components of Timberdoodle curriculum kits are selected to engage and delight.

They may not be considered “basic” or “essential” but they are absolutely crucial to a kid’s development. How can an engineer design a building without drawing plans? Or how will the latest app be successful without the best graphics and color scheme? Art is an integral part of our world, and every child should have a good foundation.

While you could hand your child a piece of paper, crayons, and a watercolor tray and call it a day, I have found that there is incredible value in art kits that teach and practice step-by-step skills. We have four art books/kits included in our Timberdoodle 2nd Grade Custom Kit.

A special thanks to Timberdoodle Co. for sponsoring this series by providing us with a complimentary 2nd Grade Curriculum Kit. All opinions are our own!

Making Animals Air Dough Kit

For my full review of Making Animals Air Dough Clay, go here. This delightful set comes with 60 packets of air dry clay in 13 colors and a detailed book that guides you through the process of making over 40 different small animal models.

The Timberdoodle Handbook recommends completing around 1 model a week throughout the year. By the time their clay stash is depleted, they will have a whole menagerie of critters to display and play with. My daughter loves making little animals to give to her friends as well. She’s made turtles, wolves, dogs, and hamsters for her friends to enjoy.

Me: A Compendium

Most kids won’t want to save their schoolwork in their keepsake box to look back on when they are adults. But Me: A Compendium would be an exception! This colorful, hardback book will serve as a journal, dream-keeper, and time capsule for your 2nd grader (or any age child who completes it) that will bring giggles and smiles for years.

I’ve been eyeing this book in the Timberdoodle catalog for years, but knew it would be so much more fun when my daughter would be old enough to write and draw in it herself. It has more than lived up to my expectations!

She’s enjoyed drawing a layout of her dream room, tracing her foot on a page, drawing the things she thinks about in her brain, and writing down how many steps it is from her bed to the front door (and so so much more!). The laughter, the brainstorming sessions, and the questions and conversations that come from the book’s content are truly a gift that I know we will treasure for years to come.

We work on 1-2 spreads of pages each week and I let her flip through the book and choose whichever one grabs her interest that day instead of going from beginning to end.

Step-By-Step Drawing Book

The Usborne Step-by-Step Drawing Book has been a favorite of my daughter’s and I have watched her drawing skills come alive this year. People, animals, characters, and more are featured with easy-to-follow illustrations that form each shape and detail. Then there is ample white space on each spread to practice your own drawings.

We complete 1-2 spreads each week, and I let her flip through and select the pages she wants to draw each time. I let this be a completely independent activity for her and she has done very well with that.

She really likes that this book has so much variety and it has boosted her confidence in her skills so that she is starting to draw freehand art more frequently.

Djeco Natural World Workshop

(note: this item has been replaced by the Djeco Sea Lights Colored Sand Kit)

The bright colors and kid-friendly materials in this nature-themed paint set have delighted my artistic daughter. In fact, I’ve had to hide the materials to keep her from completing all 4 canvases at once!

Djeco art kits are some of my favorites due to their high-quality materials and easy-to-follow instructions. I have yet to open a Djeco product that I have not loved, and I can confidently say my kids feel the same way!

Featuring a step-by-step instruction book and beautiful gouache paints, the student follows the directions to paint the numbered spaces on the canvas with the correctly numbered paint color in the booklet.

There were four painting boards included, so we are working on one approximately every 2 months. We often complete them in two painting sessions as it is a lot of small spaces and details. Working in 15-20 minute chunks of time seems to be about right for my little artist.

When finished, these are display-worthy pieces, or also great to give to grandparents and family as gifts!

Final Thoughts on Art Skills for 2nd Grade

Timberdoodle Curriculum kits have made art skills so easy for our family. I never have to worry about finding materials to teach basic and advancing skills because they so wisely have selected age-appropriate books and kits that kids love and that are parent pleasers too.

Check out Timberdoodle’s Curriculum Kits here.