If, as we do in my house, you go through a lot of markers, you might consider buying a class set, which costs considerably less per pen than the individual pack of markers.

If you prefer pencils or crayons in a variety of skin tones, you might check out these instead:

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African Textile Paper

Combine this textile paper with the human paper shapes kit to give kids the opportunity to really express themselves as they create beautiful clothing for the paper figures.  These papers reproduce a rich variety of African traditional fabrics, and each 32-sheet package comes with a project idea guide.

Global Designs Textile Papers

This 128-sheet pack expands on the African textile paper described above.  These paper reproductions of beautiful textiles are based on Asian, African, Native American, and Hispanic cultural motifs from around the world. The package comes with a project idea guide.

Patterned Paper Classpack

This giant package of 248 sheets of paper reproduce patterns from animals, plants, and sea life.  It includes as well sheets of skin tone, skin tone, African textile, Native American, Hispanic, autumn, spring, holiday, and Valentine paper.  A real deal–and one with endless possibilities.

Southwestern Sand Painting Craft Kit

Cultures from around the world—including Southwestern Native Americans, Tibetans, and indigenous Australians—practice different forms of sand painting.  This kit provides kids with templates for images inspired by sand paintings in the southwestern United States.  Kids can follow these templates s or use the colored sand to create their own designs. The kit includes designs printed on 50 sheets of heavy tag stock, colored sand, and glue.  Once kids learn the techniques from the kit, they can collect sand from their region and create art that represents a local palette and texture.

Ancient Culture Design Posters Craft Kit

As with the sand painting templates, this craft kit offers children the opportunity to consider designs and patterns from ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece, Africa, Mexico, and China.  The kit comes with designs printed on 25 sheets of heavy index stock, these large (11″ x 14″) posters are educational, versatile, and fun. The package includes 5 each of 5 different designs, non-toxic fine-line markers, and instructions.

Mexican Banderas Craft Kit

Thes cut paper banners (papel picado) have been a Mexican tradition since Aztec times.  Children can make their own festive banners by coloring these traditional designs with a variety of artistic media—markers, paints, or watercolors.  The kit includes six 1-oz. Color Splash! Liquid Watercolors; 12 eye droppers; and 72 precut, 11-1/2″ x 14″ tissue sheets in 3 designs.

Mexican Bark Painting Group Pack

In Mexico, the Otomí people use bark cutouts in religious ceremonies designed to bring forth good health or a bumper crop of corn.  The Nahua people of southern Mexico also use this paper as a canvas for intricate paintings of flora, fauna, and village life.  This kit doesn’t actually use authentic Amate paper made from bark—that material is incredibly labor-intensive to craft and it’s too delicate for young children to work with.  Instead, in this kit easy-to-manipulate brown kraft paper mimics the original canvas.  This package of 24 10″ x 12″ sheets includes several printed designs, cardboard frames, non-toxic acylic paint, brushes, tape, and instructions.  Includes assorted printed designs, card board frames, non-toxic acrylic paint, brushes, tape, and instructions.

3-D Temari Balls Craft Kit (Makes 24)

Temari is an ancient Japanese art of creating decorative balls wound with thread.  This kit contains the blank balls, non-toxic acrylic paint, floss, and glitter pins—enough to great 24 1″ balls.  The kit comes with instructions on this traditional craft.

African Crafts: Fun Things to Make and Do from West Africa

This book, targeted at third through sixth graders, is a combination travel memoir and craft manual.  The author includes beautiful color photos, many of which were taken by the author during a visit to Ghana.  The book provides a brief history of West Africa and particularly Ghana, then goes on to teach children about Adinkra cloth painting, shows how they can make their own patterns using a potato stamp, and provides instructions on how to wear the cloth and on what occasions.  Additional projects include mask-making, building musical instruments, weaving kente strips, and making coil pots.Other projects include pot coiling, making masks, and weaving kente strips. The book includes additional material on crafts, stories, and myths as well as references to Web sites and museums.

World Art: Multicultural Art Projects from around the Globe

This book contains crafts inspired by cultures from around the world, including those in Egypt, Australia, India, Japan, Ancient Greece, Native America, and Mexico.  It instructs readers on how to make a dozen projects from simple materials like clay, markers, paint, and scratch boards.

Why this gift matters

Kids can learn pretty early on–by picking up on explicit and implicit signals from adults–how to view a society that is becoming increasingly diverse.  It’s important to both be direct with your children about living in a multicultural society by working the topic into your everyday conversations and to model good behavior as a citizen of a diverse society.  Arts and crafts are an excellent opportunity to have these kinds of discussions, as kids are relatively focused on a single task.  Providing children with craft supplies designed with multiculturalism in mind makes it even easier to start these conversations–and lets you encourage your children to imagine the possibility of a vibrant world packed with interesting people from whose lives and experiences they might learn.

Here, then, are some recommendations for arts and crafts supplies that will let your children draw, paint, and craft people who better represent what they see in the world.

The Colors of Us

This isn’t a particularly deep book; it doesn’t consider, for example, the diversity of human experience.  But what it does very, very well—especially for younger children, say preschool through grade 2—is highlight and celebrate the broad, beautiful spectrum of human skin colors.  The children learn to think beyond black, brown, and white to colors reminiscent of honey, peanut butter, pizza crust, ginger, peaches, and chocolate.  The message may be a bit heavy-handed for older kids, but the young ones will delight in the bright, lively illustrations and the comparisons of skin tones with familiar foods.

It is, in short, a terrific book to pull out right before digging into some multicultural craft projects.  And for those projects, I recommend you get your hands on some. . .

Multicultural World Construction Paper

How cool is this?  These 50-sheet packs of paper come in ten creative shades that reflect the rich variety of skin color found in the world community.  Awesome!

Human Paper Shapes Kit

Although I’ve seen this product recommended for four year-olds and up, I must admit that it would delight many a three year-old.  After all, most three year-olds can’t yet draw a human form, but many of them can draw faces, buttons, and other features.  Older kids would enjoy pairing these with African textile paper, global designs textile papers,  or the vibrant patterned paper pack. The human paper shapes kit includes 40 full bodies, 50 faces, and 35 each of hands and feet in a variety of skin tones.

Crayola Crayons in Multicultural Skin Tones

This set of crayons is excellent for helping kids explore, in a very hands-on manner, ideas about self, family, and community.  Because they are Crayola crayons, and not the cheaper waxy kind, you’re getting truer colors, smoother laydown, durability, and easy blending.  The colors are mahogany, apricot, burnt sienna, tan, peach, sepia, plus black and white for blending.  This set of crayons meets the artistic needs of today’s culturally diverse families, neighborhood circles, and classrooms.

Crayola Multicultural Washable Markers

Again, I can’t speak highly enough of Crayola’s products–their markers have stood up exceptionally well under the strain of my four year-old’s play, and their ink lasts far longer than any other brand I’ve used.  This set of markers in eight skin tones is, unfortunately, difficult to find in stores–but it’s important, even critical, for students to have a full spectrum from which to choose when asked to draw themselves and their families.

Crayola Multicultural Pencils

Like the crayons and markers discussed above, these colored pencils provide opportunities for children to explore identity and diversity as they draw themselves, their friends, and their families.  The pencils come pre-sharpened with thick, soft 3.3 mm leaders that don’t break too easily under pressure.

Crayola Multicultural Washable Paint Pack, Assorted Colors, Eight Ounces, Eight/Pack

How terrific is this set of paints?  As children in the primary and elementary grades are fond of depicting people, why not provide them with eight tints and shades that they can mix until they find just the right skin color to represent themselves and the people they know?  Each bottle is eight ounces, so you’re getting 64 ounces of washable, matte-finish paint.

Now that I’ve provided you with an ample sampling of artistic media for portraying people in all their diversity, let’s take a look at some multicultural crafts that focus more on folk arts from different cultures.

Using Puppets to Improve Children’s Communications Skills

Puppetry in Education

Object Exploration and Play