By Emma Thomas
Paint! So much fun, so much learning, so much mess! For most children all you need to do is turn them loose with a pot of paint, a brush, something to paint and an area you don’t mind cleaning up. But if you need a little more inspiration, here are some fun painting ideas.
Nature Painting
Paint with or on nature! This is a great autumn activity.
What you need
- Collect paper bark,
- large fallen leaves
- Small and large sticks
What you do
- Go on a walk to collect a variety of natural items.
- Decide if you are going to paint on them or with them! A large leaf or piece of paper bark makes a great canvas. A bunch of grass or a small branch with leaves makes an interesting paint brush
- Enjoy decorating with nature and see what your child produces.
Bath Paint
What you need
- Shaving cream
- Paint
- Shower gel or glue
- Pots or palette
- Paint brushes
What you do
- Fill pots or palette with shaving cream, add a little food colouring and mix well.
- Add some shower gel or PVA glue.
- Give your child a paintbrush and let them paint the bath, the walls or themselves!
- This is also a great time for your child to engage in finger painting as it’s easy to clean up.
- Finish with a bath to wash everything clean.
(This has worked for us but check that it won’t stain your bath or grout.)
Fence Paint
This activity is literally water in a bucket, but it was always a favourite when I was a Kindy teacher!
What you need
- Bucket
- Water
- Brush
- Food colouring or powder paint
What to do
- Add water and little food colouring to a bucket.
- Let your child paint the fence (or the concrete, the cubby house, the trees!).
Truck and Car Painting
What you need
- Toys trucks and cars with interesting wheels
- Large paper
- Paint
- Shallow trays
What to do
- Put the paint in shallow trays.
- Tape the paper to the table or floor
- Invite your children to drive the cars and trucks through the paint and then around on the paper to see what happens! What prints and tracks do they get? Is it different if they go faster or slower?