How to Paint With Worms

With this craft activity, children can create unique, fun, squiggly worm paintings by using noodles or "worms" to paint with. This is a sensory activity in which children explore their senses, thereby increasing their brain activity. The following will show you how you and your little ones can make a painting with worms.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 1 pound of thick spaghetti or linguine cooked
• Strainer
• 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or mineral oil
• Old newspaper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons tempera paint
• Shallow dish
• Paper

1. Boil a pound of thick spaghetti or linguine and cook according to the packaging directions.
2. Strain the noodles and coat them with 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or mineral oil. This keeps the pasta from getting sticky. Let the noodles set to allow them to cool down completely.
3. Cover the area where the children will be painting with newspaper for this activity. Supply each child with a piece of paper to do their worm painting on.
4. Add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of tempera paint to a shallow dish or deep, thick disposable plate and give 1 to each child.
5. Give each child a handful of noodles once they are cool to place into the paint. Allow the kids to mix the noodles into the paint with their hands which is cold, gooey and great fun for them.
6. Place some of the painted noodles (worms) onto the paper and have them create a wormy painting by wiggling their noodles across the paper. You will probably have to help smaller children with their creation.

Tips & Warnings

• This activity allows kids to explore their senses. The sense of sight and smell is explored and, if you use mineral oil to coat your noodles instead of vegetable oil, the sense of smell is as well.
• You can also use string or yarn for this craft, but it isn't nearly as fun.
• Make "worm tracks" by wiggling and pulling the noodles across the paper.
• Tempera paint is non-toxic, but it is not edible. Keep your little ones from exploring their sense of taste with this project.

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