Paint Sticks

I was at Michael's store awhile back and found these paint sticks that I thought may work well for the little ones to use.

They are perfect for them to grip in their fists.

They glide really nicely.

There was some cardboard boxes in the recycling bin so I cut it up instead of using paper.

The older little was very willing to show the twins how to do it

 as well as covering her now.

 The mess is minimal.  

You can see some of the paint on her arm from leaning on her artwork.

It washes off very easily.

Lots of different marks, some made by me too, I couldn't resist trying them.

Homemade Wrapping Paper

Make wrapping paper.

Here is a very easy and fun activity to keep your little one busy on a rainy day.

I covered the kitchen table with a plastic table cloth, rolled out paper

and then painted her hands to make prints.

She liked it.

Some children may not like the feel of paint on their hands though so you may want to skip it and go on to just giving them a paint brush.

She really enjoyed the independence of painting with the brush.

The main problem was that she couldn't reach very far across the paper.

So I had to turn it for her.

The fridge makes a perfect drying rack.

Oh another idea is to use cookie cutters that they stamp in the paint and then on to the paper.

Have fun.

Individual Smoosh Painting

We did an art activity with the Little One and her cousins last month.

Start with a canvas board and give your little one pieces of tape to stick down.

I think this was her favourite part of the activity.

Next squeeze paint all over.  I chose the three primary colours.

Then cover it with Saran Wrap and tape it on the back.

Finally put it on a flat surface and let them smoosh.

When they are done take the Saran Wrap off, let the paint dry a bit and then peel the tape away.

The Results!

 At the same time that the Little One was painting her even younger cousins were starting.

It was a beautiful summer day so we did this outside.

They are just crawling and I noticed that they used their whole bodies more than their older cousin.

Occasionally they would stop to try a pinch and a poke.

Then head off crawling again.

Their mom did the tape work for them.

Watercolour Painting

Here we are painting for the first time using a little water colour palette that you can find at Dollarama, in their birthday loot bag section.

They come with a little brush, the perfect size for little hands 

(I used these often at StrongStart)

All you need to add is water.

Part of the fun is adding the water to the palette to make the paints come to life.

She did this for awhile before putting any marks on the paper.

I think it may have confused her by sitting at the table where, till now, she has only eaten.

She finally got the hang of it.

Dip in water, dip in paint, dab on paper and repeat.

Or try dipping your finger in the paint. 

Instead of wasting it by wiping it off, I showed her how to make

her finger print.

When it was done we gave it to her mom as a birthday card.

Inspired by Hydrangeas

 I picked some hydrangeas from my garden and set them up

as an inspiration for painting.

 Blue, purple and white paint was offered on a small plate

with old fashioned shaving brushes

 The size and shape of the brush is perfect for little hands to grip.

 And they worked great for mixing the paint and dabbing or swiping on the paper.

 This is my attempt, I may make a large painting using this technique.

 Small amount of green paint was offered in a milk jug lid.

I couldn't find any tiny brushes so I cut coffee stir sticks shorter.

 Love all the different movement I can see in this painting;

dabbing, swiping, swishing, stopping and lifting.

This turned out to be a fun colour mixing activity.

She made the colour of the ocean.

Taking the activity one step further and getting his fingers involved.

The following photos show the concentration and enthusiasm of 

one child as she explores the materials.

One of my favourite parts of this job is watching and enjoying

the children.