Children's Painting Activities
Painting gives children the opportunity to be creative. Communication through creation is important for children of all ages, and painting is more about the process than the finished product. There are many painting activities for children that allow them to think outside the box and paint with different items. Beyond traditional brushes, household items such as cotton swabs, toothbrushes or combs can be used as painting tools.
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Preparation
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Before engaging in any kind of painting activity with children, be prepared and take proper precautions. If it is a warm sunny day, consider painting outside to eliminate indoor messes or spills. If you are working indoors, cover all work surfaces with drop clothes, sheets or butcher paper. Dress children in old clothes or painting smocks, as they are likely to get paint on their outerwear. If the children are finger painting, keep a bowl with warm soapy water on hand if they need to rinse their hands.
Materials
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Smocks, art easels and large tablets of paper may be a good investment for students with an interest in painting. Many types of paint are suitable for children's painting activities, including watercolor, Tempera paint, poster paint, powder paints and wet chalk. Watercolors are best suited for older children. Young children typically need only one or two colors to use, while older children can handle four or more colors. No-spill pots are helpful in avoiding paint waste.
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Objects as Brushes
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Skip brushes in favor of painting with various objects to create different effects. Substitutes for brushes include cotton swabs and balls, rags, toothpicks, twigs or sticks, feathers, toothbrushes, sting or yarn. Children also can experiment by painting with their hands and feet. Objects for stamping or stenciling include fruits and vegetables, corks, cookie cutters, wood blocks, leaves, textured fabrics, sponges, stamps and stencils. Sponges come in all different shapes and sizes.
Techniques
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Finger painting helps to develop sensory skills in younger children. The technique is left to the imagination of those children. Leaf painting is a relatively easy and fun activity involving tree leaves and sponges. The leaf is placed on a sheet of paper and the child dabs the outer edges of the leaf with a paint soaked sponge, creating a textured outline. Blow painting involves a glob of paint on a piece of paper. The child then blows through a straw to spread the paint across the paper. Children can make puffy paint by mixing equal parts of flour salt and water with food coloring. Filling squeeze bottles with the paint mixture, children can create designs on cardboard that will puff up and sparkle when dry.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit kid paint image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
