By Meghan Miller
My son came up to me the other day and just announced, “paint with me, mommy!” I am not a painter, and often the mess turns me off. But, I do have a whole collection of painting ideas that have used with him before and he loves every one. Creation through paint is much different than using crayons. Half of the experience is a sensory one and the other half creation. Kids of all ages can get wrapped up in sensory exploration.
Because I really hate messes, I have a few pre-painting tips:
*Get out an old t-shirt. I always think, “but, this will be the time that he keeps his paint to himself!”
*Consider using the dishwasher door as a painting space. Open the clean dishwasher and sit on the floor. Set your paper on the new “table” and then when you’re done load the dishwasher (because running it on empty is wasteful, right?) and wash it up.
*Go outside.
Each of these painting projects is a bit different, but none require a lot of specialized materials. If you have paints and brushes you can do all of these.
1. Make some prints using household items. We love crinkling foil up into shapes and printing the results. Put out a plate with some paint on it and dip all kinds of things into the paint and then stamp them onto the paper. Big hits around here have been: potato masher, whisk, pasta, bubble wrap, foil, hands, feet, garlic press, spatula, paper towels, yogurt containers and pretty much anything in the big “junk drawer” in the kitchen.
2. Paint with water. I stole this idea from a friend. It is so simple that I cannot believe how much fun it is. We paint on our back deck, but really, any outdoor surface would work. Fill a bunch of containers with water, bring out the brushes and “paint.” My son likes a lid from a large storage container to step in and then make foot prints all over our deck.
3. It’s not quite pumpkin season yet, but last year we painted our pumpkins. It was so much fun, because every time you rotated the pumpkin there was a new surface to paint. I bet this would also work with older kids and empty paper towel rolls, smaller brushes and much better fine motor skills.
4. Paint in a plastic bag. Fill a large freezer bag with a few tablespoons of paint, seal it off carefully at the top and tape four corners down to the table. It has that “squishy” feel of paint and you are painting in negative space. Put different colors of paper underneath it and your lines will turn that color as you move paint around the bag and cause the plastic bag to become see-through in the areas that you touch.
5. Make potato (or apple or even soap) stamps. We have a ton of potatoes growing in our backyard. This is a good way to use some up. Most people have done this at some point back in elementary school. Cut the potato in half, draw a simple shape and cut around that shape until it is raised at least a quarter inch from the rest. If you have a small child, cut away more of the potato to assist with the less tuned motor skills.
6. Marble painting is another one most of us had seen at some time. Get out a baking dish, such as a 9 x 9 pan, and line it with paper. Put in a few blobs of paint and a marble and gently tilt the pan to let the marble roll around and create lines. Older kids can plan the path of the marble and when it will need to go back through the paint. Younger kids might just fingerpaint with the marble, but it is all a nice sensory experience either way!
Do your children love to paint? Add your painting tips or ideas in the comments below.
Meghan Miller moved to Champaign for school and never left. She is a special education teacher who spends most of her free time taking photos, drawing or gardening. When she’s not at the park chasing butterflies with her son, she is blogging at http://halfayard.blogspot.com/ or taking pictures of children.
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