Easel Central

Getting ready for a nanny.?

We have a nanny starting next week in our home. She will be here 4 days a week. I’m wondering what sorts of toys/activities/educational stuff I should have on hand for her. She’s indicated she doesn’t need much and during nice weather she and our 2 yr. old son will be outside most of the time (we have a park across the street). But colder weather is coming around and I want to make sure she has lots of stuff to entertain our little guy with. She suggested I get some finger paints and paper. What else would you suggest?
I have PlayDoh, building blocks, and Easel with chalk and dry erase markers, a train table with trains and cars. We also have crayons and paper, not to mention all the little toys and random stuff he has. We also have lots of books. What else would you suggest?
Thanks so much!

I am a nanny, and at 2 years old those things will all work. The 2 year old I nanny for will be 3 in late December, and we can now play Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, and Go Fish with a deck of playing card.

For the last month he has wanted to play Candyland more than anything else. He also likes tic-tac-toe, although he doesn’t fully understand the concept he does understand taking turns putting X’s and O’s into the squares.

Puzzles are popular and educational. Big puzzles with 12 – 24 pieces work well in that age group.

He will be getting more an more able to play simple board games and card games (which also teach taking turns, colors and numbers) so I would suggest getting some of those. He will soon be able to learn the games that are for age 3+ if he is a well disciplined child. Starting ours on games like Candyland at age 2 he would want to crumple the cards etc, and I had to be firm and tell him “no”. But once he got the basics of playing board games down he loves them!

Another good game to is a Thomas the Train game with a spinner. You put in either a straight or curved piece and build a train track for your train to get to the middle of the board. The Thomas the Train game was the first boardgame he could play correctly, and he had it down before he was 2.5 years old.

Another good thing to get is giant legos. The ones for kids 3 and under. Things that connect, that can be used for building. Bath toys are fun too.

Making An Easel

Double Sided Art Easel $299.99 Space-saving double-sided easel is perfect for early childhood classrooms! Two children can explore their creativity and build fine motor skills as they paint or draw on the dry-erase or painting surfaces.

Winston Churchill Sitting at His Easel Painting $79.99 Winston Churchill Sitting at His Easel Painting Premium Photographic Print by . Product size approximately 12 x 16 inches. Available at Art.com. Embrace your Space – your source for high quality fine art posters and prints.

Winston Churchill at a Painting Easel, January 7, 1946 $99.99 Winston Churchill at a Painting Easel, January 7, 1946 Premium Photographic Print by Hans Wild. Product size approximately 11 x 14 inches. Available at Art.com. Embrace your Space – your source for high quality fine art posters and prints.

Colorations Tabletop Easel $39.99 Lightweight portable and super versatile! This 4-in-1 tabletop easel features painting dry-erase chalkboard and magnetic surfaces and saves valuable classroom floor space.

Alvin RSETOIL5000 Oil Color Painting Easel Set $58.73 12 Essentials Oil Paints in .4 oz Starter Tubes; 6 Assorted Bristle Brushes; Wooden Palette. 11 x 14 Canvas Board; 11 x 14 Stretched Canvas. Plastic Palette Knife. Genuine Hardwood Tabletop Easel; Sturdy Portable Tote. Perfect Holiday Gift For Any Aspiring Artist.

Alvin RSETWAT5000 Watercolor Painting Easel Set $58.73 12 Essentials Watercolor Paints in .4 oz Starter Tubes; 6 Assorted Taklon Brushes. 12 Sheets of 11 x 14 Watercolor Paper. 10Well Plastic Palette. Genuine Hardwood Tabletop Easel; Sturdy Portable Tote. Perfect Holiday Gift For Any Aspiring Artist.

Alvin RSETACR5000 Acrylic Painting Easel Set $58.73 12 acrylic paints. 6 white taklon brushes. 1 tabletop easel. 1 wooden palette. (1) 11 x 14 canvas panel. (1) 11 x 14 stretched canvas. 1 plastic palette knife. And 1 artist tote.

William Hogarth Seated at His Easel Painting the Comic Muse $34.99 William Hogarth Seated at His Easel Painting the Comic Muse Giclee Print by William Hogarth. Product size approximately 9 x 12 inches. Available at Art.com. Embrace your Space – your source for high quality fine art posters and prints.

Aspiring Artist Sebastiano Carta Painting in His Apartment Using a Chair as an Easel $79.99 Aspiring Artist Sebastiano Carta Painting in His Apartment Using a Chair as an Easel Premium Photographic Print by . Product size approximately 12 x 16 inches. Available at Art.com. Embrace your Space – your source for high quality fine art posters and prints.

Royal Sketch Box Easel $80.94 This beautiful and portable easel is crafted from very hard Beech wood with a rich natural finish and brass plated hardware. Features of the extremely portable and sturdy easel are that is has a comfortable luggage-style carrying handle, a box/drawer with a tongue-and-grove construction, a large wood palette, it can be used in the field, home or studio, its legs are adjustable and are rubber tipped for extra stability, it folds quickly and easily for storage, and the set-up is just as quick making it the perfect full sized travel companion. This easel has a wet canvas carrier as well so you don’t have to wait for your painting to dry or risk damage. Easel has a maximum height of 72″ and can hold a canvas as high as 24-1/2″.

Alvin HWE7202 Heritage LyreStyle Wood Easel $114 Heritage wooden Aframe painting easel is constructed of select oiled elm wood. Lyrestyle easel is a 3legged easel designed to be stable and sturdy. Adjustable canvas supports on top and bottom accommodate canvases up to 51 high. Rear leg adjusts to control angle. Folds flat for storage. Approx assembled dimensions: 21.5 x 68 x 27 . Great for painting sketching art display. Heritage LyreStyle wooden painting easel.

JontiCraft 0218JC DOUBLE ADJUSTABLE EASEL $175.55 Item is custom made. Please allow for an additional 10 business days for this order to shipHinged at top with positive lock braces on side. Adjust the height of the double painting surfaces from 38 to 46 . Minimal assembly. Easel is 46 high work panel is 32 wide x 24 high.Legs are maple. Hardboard easel panels standard equipment. Clips and paint tray included. Fold flat for storage. Optional easel panels available. Lifetime warranty.

JontiCraft 4181JC TODDLER ADJUSTABLE EASEL $104.69 Item is custom made. Please allow for an additional 10 business days for this order to shipArt at a toddler s height. Hinged at top with positive lock braces on side. Adjust the height of the double painting surfaces from 8.5 to 16 high. Minimal assembly. Easel is 40 high work panel is 24 wide x 24 high.Legs are maple. Hardboard easel panels standard equipment. Clips and paint tray included. Fold flat for storage. Optional easel panels available. Lifetime warranty.

Hanging Single Art Easel $78.83 Single. Comes with S-hooks for hanging on chain-link fences and includes clamps trays and base-extenders to hold the easel out away from fence at a workable angle. Extenders have skid-resistant rubber bumpers to allow you to use as a table-top painting surface. Single is 23 wide and Double is 47 wide. Both are 22 tall.

Painting of Nude Woman Stretched on Easel in Artist Moses Soyer’s Studio in Greenwich Village, NYC $79.99 Painting of Nude Woman Stretched on Easel in Artist Moses Soyer’s Studio in Greenwich Village, NYC Premium Photographic Print by . Product size approximately 12 x 16 inches. Available at Art.com. Embrace your Space – your source for high quality fine art posters and prints.

Crowd of Children and Adults Look Somewhat Surprised by What This Artist is Painting at His Easel! $49.99 Crowd of Children and Adults Look Somewhat Surprised by What This Artist is Painting at His Easel! Giclee Print by Tom Browne. Product size approximately 18 x 24 inches. Available at Art.com. Embrace your Space – your source for high quality fine art posters and prints.

Jackie Kennedy, Wife of Sen, Painting on an easel as Daughter Caroline Paints on Table at Home $69.99 Jackie Kennedy, Wife of Sen, Painting on an easel as Daughter Caroline Paints on Table at Home Photographic Print by Alfred Eisenstaedt. Product size approximately 12 x 16 inches. Available at Art.com. Embrace your Space – your source for high quality fine art posters and prints.

Alvinamp;Co HWE509 38Elmwood Table Easel $54.28 Constructed of oiled elm wood this attractive easel provides rigid support for canvases up to 21 high. Perfect for painting or for displaying finished art work this easel adjusts in angle to reduce glare. Rubber tips on the base help prevent skidding. Overall measurements: 11 x 13 x 38 .

Manta Ray S3101 Single Hanging Fence Easel $75.45 Comes complete with Shooks for hanging on a chainlink fence clamps to secure paper Easel Trays and base extenders to hold easel out from fence at a workable angl. Extenders have skidresistant rubber bumpers that allow you to use the easel as a tabletop painting surface. Some assembly required. Attaches to fence outside no messy cleanup. Large work area gives ample room to be creative. Dimensions: 221/2 H x 231/2 W.

Taunton’s Build Like a Pro Painting and Finishing $14.96 This book is in New – Excellent condition

Walnut Studio Tablet Easel $65 - Main work surface: 13″ W x 19″ H – Perfect for storing an ipad – Four angle adjustments – Can be used for sketching, painting or reading – Storage drawers for pens, phones, etc. – Pencil ledge

Oak Studio Tablet Easel $65 - Main work surface: 13″ W x 19″ H – Perfect for storing an ipad – Four angle adjustments – Can be used for sketching, painting or reading – Storage drawers for pens, phones, etc. – Pencil ledge