If your little one loves painting, experimenting, getting their hands messy and creating without being told exactly what their masterpiece is supposed to look like, Little Art Buddies is one to add to your Perth playdate list.
We recently visited for one of their sensory art-based play sessions, designed for little ones aged 0 to 5, and it was exactly my kind of toddler art class. There was no sitting everyone down and trying to get a group of toddlers to recreate the same picture. Instead, the children were free to move around, explore the different activities set up around the space and create however they wanted. Basically, embrace the mess and let them go for it.
The sessions run on a theme, weaving together sensory experiences, art and play through a range of activities scattered around the room. Rather than moving the children through each station or expecting them to complete everything, they could simply follow what interested them.
One child might spend ages at the paint table, while another moves between activities, mixes colours, explores different textures or discovers an entirely different way to use something. There was no pressure to do everything and no right way to create.
And if you have a toddler, you’ll know that sometimes painting the hands instead of the paper, mixing every colour together or pouring something where it definitely wasn’t intended to go is the activity.
I really liked that the focus was on letting the children explore rather than worrying about what they produced at the end. It might look like a whole lot of glorious mess, but there is plenty of learning happening during this kind of open-ended play. Little Art Buddies weaves in STEAM concepts, science, technology, engineering, art and maths, into its play experiences.
And no, technology for a toddler doesn’t have to mean handing them a screen. Using different tools and materials helps children develop coordination, precision and problem-solving skills. Colour mixing, textures and cause and effect bring in science, while building, designing and balancing can introduce early engineering concepts. Then there is counting, sorting, shapes, patterns, measuring and exploring volume for maths, all while they’re happily painting and squishing away.
As a mum and a qualified Primary School Teacher, I love seeing learning happen naturally like this. Little people don’t need to be sitting at a table completing a worksheet to be learning. So much of their early development happens simply through playing, experimenting and having the freedom to work things out for themselves.
Little Art Buddies is run by Emily, a Clinical Nurse and mum of two who rediscovered her love of creativity during maternity leave. That personal touch really comes through in the sessions, which feel unhurried and genuinely focused on connection rather than ticking off a craft. Alongside the regular sensory art play sessions for the little ones, there are also school holiday and after school offerings like Kindy Crafternoons, where kids can enjoy a different craft each week, and even a Mum Buddies craft club for parents who fancy a few hours to themselves with a coffee in hand. Little Art Buddies also offers incursions if you’d like to bring the sensory art fun to a party, playgroup or centre.
If you’re after a relaxed, no-pressure art experience where your toddler can get properly messy and explore at their own pace, Little Art Buddies is well worth booking in for.
Little Art Buddies
Location: Morley, WA (specific venue address provided upon booking)
Opening hours: Session-based, see website for upcoming dates and times
Website: littleartbuddiesperth.com.au
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