Tips for Making Time for Art (Even with Your Busy Schedule)

Do you struggle with making time for art? Here are tips from real moms about how they make time for art in their homes.

Let me guess:

You started this year with good intentions.

You were going to mix up the 3Rs with some FUN. With “Creativity” as your cry, you bought art supplies and made the perfect plan for how you’d do art every single Friday, so help you Van Gogh.

But it’s only September, and you’re already starting to lose steam.

Math and reading, reading and math…(and don’t even get me STARTED about setting up for science experiments!)…

…so with all the crazy that’s already started this year, how do you MAKE time for art in your homeschool?

That’s what I asked some of our Masterpiece Society Studio members, and these ladies came up with some amazing ideas.

Read below to find out how real, live mamas are making art a priority in their homeschools – and get fresh ideas for your creative home – you don’t want to miss these amazing insights:

We do art any time (mostly after core subjects are done) including evenings and weekends, times people wouldn’t normally “do school”. And if we need a break from working so diligently on our main subjects, we’ll pull out art, kind of as a break. It’s fun for me and something I really enjoy, and I think when my kids see how much I love it, it makes them want to join in. Enthusiasm is catchy!! – Jen B.

We plan it into our day as a main subject. For us that is Wednesday morning before morning time. So much can be learned from art! It is top priority for us this year. – Cara C.

We do it on our day off from regular curriculum. We have a 4-day school week and take Thursday’s off and do art and science experiment because to my kids that’s fun, not school. – Nicole S.

We schedule it in on Fridays and the site is always available to the boys during their free time… And they will willingly watch Mrs. Alisha and play with paint instead of asking for movies. It’s a win-win as long as I have canvas boards or watercolor paper. – Lara M.

I put the art supplies where we have to walk past them, lol… that way it stays on my mind and the kids “remind” me we need to do art. – Katrina S.

It’s part of our normally scheduled day on Mondays! My younger 2 do a few less subjects on Monday and we put in art, experiments, trips, etc.! – Alison W.

Friday fun day! We use it as a day to focus on all the extras like Art. – Brooke M.

Added art to science and social studies plus we have an artistic art time once a week! – April P.

I just decided today that we would make the table in our school room the art table. We have been pondering taking it down anyway since school takes place ALL. OVER. THE. HOUSE. and it just occurred to me that we can use it for art! Supplies stay put, are easily accessible, and is a constant reminder that we can do art in our free time instead of pouting about being bored and hearing no to screen time! … We also try to focus on art during free time over the weekend. We did some water color before dinner Sunday evening and it was so nice! – Nena H.

For us each day of the week has a them, and ours is Artful Thursdays! – Wendy W.

My kids beg to do art lessons every day, so some days I use it as a reward. “Get all your work done so we can do an art lesson!” – Ashley R.

I have a high schooler so we consider it one of our main subjects, so we do it every day. We get the supplies out after lunch. I think being a planner. Some activities take more time or at least dry time. Depending on the project we might do some prep in the morning then finish after lunch or take more than one day on a project. – Julie B.

Wednesday afternoons we have art and music so that is when we do our bigger, messier art projects. But my older two are doing drawing 101 and we work on those daily, practicing our drawing in the evenings before bed while we listen to an audio book. Great way to unwind and relax. – B.

Art isn’t an extra I try to fit in, I’m open to it most anytime we’re at home. – Bethany I.

Making sure I have supplies on hand all the time and doing art WITH them…it’s fun for everyone!!! – Erica L.

We do art together and make it a priority in our homeschool schedule. It’s a relaxing, fun time that gives us a break from the 3Rs. – Tina R.

We have “Fine Arts Friday.” A couple years ago, I decided I needed to prioritize it just as I did math and writing, so I just scheduled it in like anything else. When it’s written on the calendar or lesson plan, it’s prioritized in our day….and the kids look forward to it now, so they don’t let me skip it! – Jardel M.

We schedule it for the same time each week. It doesn’t get done if we don’t. On art days, other “extras” like typing, spelling, etc are dropped to make sure we have enough time. We also do MUCH better getting it in when we have it scheduled with friends. That forces ME to not push it aside. – Carla M.

As most people said, scheduling art as well as making the paints available all the time is key. My daughter would do art all day if she could so we don’t have to schedule necessarily for her. We also invite a neighborhood friend each week so we keep to the commitment of painting. – Julia S.

For us, we do art on Tuesday. I schedule it for our morning routine. – Amber F.

I combine the art with my history when I can and we do art Friday afternoons making sure ahead of time the supplies are on hand. – Christine H.

I ask each child to choose something they would like to learn outside of their normal subjects every year. This year two of my elementary kids chose art. When I purchased the membership my high-schooler decided to take advantage of it to get a credit in art as well. So those three have it on their schedule of assignments every week which helps make it happen … I find that when I sit down and paint it makes me happy and it is relaxing. But it also intrigues my children and creates more desire for them to experiment, especially with some of my younger kids. They will occasionally ask to have a painting afternoon with me. Finished pieces of work are satisfying and provide more motivation for the next project. Stocking up on supplies definitely helps … Schedule it, provide the supplies, make it a priority. Do it together. I guess that’s what works!! Also, we do most projects while our 2-year old naps, or I need to set up a painting place for her (dot paints or water colors). – Merri P.

Getting all of your art supplies on the table and declaring the entire day to be “Art Day!” – Erin V.

Friday Fine arts day is THE day my kiddos look forward to the most. We definitely have Fridays dedicated to art and through the week. It’s on the calendar just like the rest of our studies. The kids choose what they want to paint and check the supplies to see if we need anything else. I also join in every week, usually painting what the 10-year old chooses for me. She thinks that’s a lot of fun and I love playing along. – Jen Jones

We do art every Friday! It’s part of our school schedule and makes a great way to end our week!!! – Natasha D.