When my daughter was a toddler, we pretty much just flew by the seats of our pants when it came to our art projects. Sometimes we just splattered paint on what we liked—the compost bin, cardboard, whatever. Sometimes we picked dandelions and used them to rub on paper. Oftentimes we would mash play-dough into animals, cars, aliens, whatever. But had I access to this lovely little book for toddlers and twos, I would have definitely planned a few more imaginative artistic excursions.

First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos by Maryann F. Kohl, Renee F. Ramsey, Dana Bowman, and Katheryn Davis is a 160-page art book for parents packed with ideas, activities, suggestions, recipes, and more. It might sound like there were too many cooks in the kitchen when it was written, but that’s actually what makes this book so good; it has the input of four creative people who know both their children and their art. This expertise is reflected throughout the book.

Most of the projects in the book are either free (based on things you already have around in the house) or very cheap to create. There are 75 ideas in all, and they are organized so well that I, a chronic highlighter and labeler, couldn’t have done better myself. Not only are they all indexed by category and easy to find; they also have a very cool labeling system with icons to tell you if the projects require “art clothes” (old clothes you don’t care about getting messy), if soapy water and other cleanup materials will be needed, if it’s a group activity, if it’s intended for outdoor use, etc. There are even special warning boxes to cover other concerns, such as sharp or hot objects, as well as an activity level box to tell you if it’s a quiet or energetic activity.

Projects range from incredibly soft homemade clay that’s perfect for toddlers (as well as easier to manipulate than regular clay), bubble buckets, colored water experiments (which my five-year-old loves doing in muffin tins), goop making, and more. There are so many fun ideas in this book that I’ve decided to purchase it for our own home use. Even though my daughter may have technically outgrown the intended age range, most of these are pretty timeless and can be adapted for older children’s use.

Another thing that parents will like is that each project also has a little clock to indicate how long its setup will take, preventing them from starting long projects right before heading out the door (a common event in our household!).