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Your Child’s Art Show

Gather your child’s earlier creations, arrange an art show, and invite family members to look and listen as your child shares their work.

  • 2½ years
  • Quick prep
  • At home
  • About 30 minutes
Focus
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Developmental benefits

  • Language：Describing an artwork and explaining how it was made gives your child practice putting a creative process into words.
  • Social/Emotional：Inviting other people to an art show gives your child practice using social language and sharing their work with others.

Preparation

What You’ll Need

  1. 1

    Your child’s artwork

  2. 2

    markers or crayons

  3. 3

    construction paper

  4. 4

    tape

  5. 5

    photos

Step 1

Sort the Artwork

Gather your child’s artwork and invite them to sort it by subject, material, or type of creation.

What to notice

  • Compares the finished pictures and sorts them into groups Reasoning and Problem-Solving
  • Describes or names a picture, using words such as “castle” or “butterfly” Communicating and Speaking

Tips

  • Talk about the pictures as you sort: “What is in this painting?” “Why would you put it with the butterfly?”

Step 2

Send Invitations

Make invitations together. Let your child send them to family members and toy characters and invite everyone to the art show.

What to notice

  • Invites a family member or doll by saying, “Please come…” Relationships with Adults
  • Turns their head shyly and runs away after sending the invitation Emotional Functioning

Tips

  • Draw, paint, or collage the invitations together while introducing simple invitation language.
  • Model a complete sentence using familiar words: “Teddy, please come see my picture.” Your child does not need to repeat the whole sentence; any attempt to say part of it is worthwhile.

Step 3

Share the Artwork

Invite your child to share each piece of art in their own way. Ask about its title, what it shows, who helped make it, and how sharing it feels.

What to notice

  • Describes their painting to everyone, saying, “This is a little fish.” Communicating and Speaking
  • Looks happy after presenting their picture Emotional Functioning

Tips

  • Ask about the picture: “Wow, is that a fish in the ocean?”
  • With your child’s permission, let them choose a picture to give a guest. Ask, “Why did you choose this one for Grandpa?”

Better Parenting Content Team · Updated September 11, 2026