Home-based art sessions
This page is for children’s art sessions. If you are interested in home-based art sessions for adults, please send me an email by clicking here.
Why home based?
Because sometimes it can be tiring to drive across town to reach a children’s activity, maybe you need some extra occasional childcare, or perhaps you have a child that thrives in smaller groups or familiar environments.
Whatever your reason is, your child will have a nourishing off-screen activity, while you will have a couple of hours to use however you please, and they won’t even be interrupted by travel time!
IMPORTANT INFO
Ages: 5-16yrs
When booking for multiple children, similar ages are ideal. However, a benefit of having tailored sessions is that I can adjust even for bigger age gaps.
Capacity: 5 children per session.
Good for siblings, but you can also invite your child’s friends or other kids from the neighbourhood to participate and create a little cozy art club full of familiar faces! This way you can split the cost and share the fun! Similarly to how a nanny share would work.
What do you need? Just some space on a table or on the floor. I will adapt to whatever you have available.
What do I provide? Aprons, a waterproof tablecloth, all art materials, and a personal folder to store the works in.
A lot of the art materials I provide are professional grade (while keeping safety in mind, especially for younger children), so you child can feel like a true artist and get the chance to experiment with materials that they may not have access to otherwise.
How long do the sessions last? 1hr to 2hrs and a half. For longer sessions (nanny sessions) get in touch and we can agree on a price that works for you.
When are the sessions available? Tue-Fri and the last weekend of the month. Can make exceptions for one-off sessions.
Services and prices
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Trial Session - 1hr
£25
What the title says. A trial sessions to consider whether you would like the service or not. Even if you are not looking to have regular sessions, any first session you book will be priced as a trial session.
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Personal Session - 1hr to 2hrs 30mins
£55/hr
That’s £11 per child when at full capacity!
My standard tailored art session which can be booked regularly (10% discount for regular customers), occasionally, or as a one-off.
I am available for longer sessions (art nanny sessions) and I’m happy to discuss a price that works for you.
Extras
You can add extras when booking a personal sessions. Or get both of them for free after your 5th session (trial session not included).
- Apron for your child to keep. Plain: £15. Personalised (embroidered by me with the name of your child and/or a small symbol): £25
- Sketchbook so your child can keep practicing like a true artist: £10
What are the benefits of art?
Study after study has found that subjective wellbeing is improved by taking part in arts activities. Research from the Education and Social Care Committees show that ‘nearly half (45%) of 1.492 students sampled say that engagement in the arts helps them relax and reduces stress’ (1).
Making art empowers children and enriches many aspects of their lives. It fosters creativity, innovation, empathy and resilience (2) and develops young people’s sense of identity and self-efficacy (3). It plays such an important part in how we laugh at ourselves, make sense of ourselves, our emotions, and our reality, and I find a huge sense of purpose in fostering this space for other people.
1. University of Nottingham/RSC/Tate (2018) Time To Listen: Evidence from the tracking Arts Learning and Engagement [TALE] project 2. “The Arts for Every Child”, Cultural Learning Alliance, briefing paper n.5 3. Catteral & Peppler 2007, Merrell & Tymms 2002, Schellenberg, et al. 2015
Why art session instead of art class?
What I provide is a judgement-free space for children and young people to decompress and just be; give them a chance to experiment with different materials, textures, and techniques in the way that best suits them, while I offer prompts and guidance.
I don’t want to call these “classes” to avoid making them feel like there is a specific school-like end goal. There is already such an increasing pressure to achieve in every aspect of young people's lives, and this is a moment in which they are free to be themselves, make mistakes, and have fun.
Of course learning still happens in the end, but it is more organic and comes from the children rather than being pushed onto them by me.
PRACTICALITIES AND FAQS
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I make a completely tailored plan for each session, depending on age, number of children, interests, and length of the session.
Ideally, I would discuss your preferences and your child’s interests before our first session starts, though I understand this may not always be possible. In that case, I would bring a varied selection of materials to the first session, and slowly adapt to the interests of your child.
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While that of course would be a plus, anyone can have fun and benefit from making a bit of art, regardless of skill or interest. Every child is an artist. All that matters is finding the thing that they enjoy doing.
Is your child super into math, science, geography, fashion, a tv series, or some game like Minecraft and Roblox? I will make sure to create sessions they can enjoy by connecting art with the things they love and are familiar with. After all, art is about exploring the world in a way that makes sense to you. Whatever way that is, it is always valid, and I am here to be of guidance in figuring that out.
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I cover any area in and around Edinburgh that is within a 20 minute walk from a bus stop. I have a handy wee trolley that I use to take all the materials with me.
I can travel further away for the weekend sessions so do get in touch if that interests you.
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The after school sessions are available between 3pm and 7pm Tue-Thu and 12pm-7pm Fri. These times will be split into an “earlier” time slot and a “later” time slot (and a middle slot for the Friday). The exact times for these slots are not set as they are based on your preference, availability, and length of the session.
If you are home educating or interested in a weekend session, morning slots are available.
[If you live very close to the school, I am happy to do school pick ups for the earlier time slots]
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I will get in touch with a confirmation and to see if you are available for a chat before the session. You can also book this chat yourself by clicking here.
In case of a bundle booking, the first thing I will do is get in touch to arrange a time slot for the recurring sessions to happen.
As for payments: for trial sessions and one-off bookings you can pay straight away (credit/debit card and Apple Pay). For bundles, I will send you the payment link once your time slot has been arranged. I accept cash and direct bank transfers, these will happen on the day of the session.
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Yes. I will try to organise a pre-session chat for every new booking. If you would like to meet up in person, just send me an email and I will see what I can organise.
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Yes, of course! That time is for you to use however you want.
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Should you need to cancel, even last minute, I will do my best to reschedule the session or give you a refund if preferred.
I strive to make it as easy as possible to cancel due to sickness, even if it is just a cold*. I do this both to protect all the kids I work with regularly, and because of my weak immune system (which, I know, is not ideal when self-employed and working with kids). I really appreciate you respecting that, and I can assure you will get the same amount of attention back.
*I know cold symptoms can linger, so I ask you to cancel only if it’s been less than 10 days since the first symptoms started.