Kid Painting Ideas
Children of all ages love to paint. The great thing about painting with children is that each painting is truly a work of art to them... even if you can't tell what it is. As with most children's crafts, painting is more about the process and the learning than it is about the product.
Great for Kids
Details
It's a great opportunity to teach children how to think outside the box and use things you wouldn't normally think about painting with in their projects. You can use objects instead of brushes, different kinds of paint, paint different surfaces, use templates or stencils, or even use parts of their bodies. Painting with children can also be a great way for them to experiment, learn cause and affect, learn about colors and how they mix.
Tips...
Before you dive into painting with your child, here are a few tips that can make it a little easier to have fun and clean up afterwards. Don't forget to cover your work surface before you begin and put on old clothes or painting smocks. In addition, you can put a few drops of dish washing soap in most soaps to aid in cleanup if there are "accidents." There are also spill-free paint cups available.
I also keep a tub of warm soapy water handy to dip the kid's hands in if they get a little carried away with their painting. That way I can get the paint off their hands before they have a chance to paint my walls, carpet, etc. This works especially well with finger painting type projects.
'Substitute Brush' Ideas...
Q-tips or cotton swabs
Cotton Balls
Fingers
Toes
Rags
Toothpick
Twigs or sticks
Feathers
Toothbrush
String or yarn
Printing/Stamping/Stenciling Objects
Fruit or vegetables
Corks
Cookie cutters
Wood blocks
Leaves
Textured Fabric
Lace
Doilies
Styrofoam Shapes
Body Puff
Loofa
Natural Sponges
Stamps
Stencils
Plastic lids from containers (to make circles)
Wheels from toy cars
Sponges
Other Painting Tools
Blow Paints
Squirt bottle
Eyedropper
Old or Cheap Toys
Paint Variations
Watercolor
Tempera Paint
Poster Paint
Paint Sticks
Wet Chalk
Add Water to Thin Paint
Add Flour or Starch to Thicken Paint
Add Sand
Add Glitter
Add Fake Snow
Add Dirt
Add Whole Spices (Like Cloves or Peppercorn)
Painting Projects
Marble Painting - Cut a piece of construction paper to fit in the bottom of a pie tin, tray, or similar container. Put a couple of drops of tempera paint on the paper. Gently roll a couple of marbles in the bottom of the pan (through the paint drops) to create the painting.
Bubble Painting - Mix a little bit of tempera paint into bubble blowing mixture and put into pie tin or similar container. Have children blow bubbles with a straw and then lay paper on top of the bubbles. Make sure the child knows how to blow, not suck, so they don't get a mouth full of soapy paint.
Straw Painting - Put a couple of drops of thinned paint onto paper and give child straw to blow different patterns.
Mirror Image Painting - Fold a piece of paper in half and then open it back up. Paint some images, shapes, or just drops of paint on one side of the fold. Fold the paper back over on top of the painted side and smooth it with your hand to make sure the paint contacts the blank side. Open up the paper to reveal a mirror image. This painting technique can be used with a lot of different projects.
Paint Flicking - Cut out the top and one side of an old cardboard box to make a screen to protect the surrounding areas and lay paper in the bottom. Flick paint onto paper to make pretty patterns using an old toothbrush or a paintbrush. You can also show the child how to hit a paintbrush against a stick to flick paint on to the paper.
Spray Painting - Use old spray bottles filled with different colors of watered down paint. Use the bottles to create spray paint pictures. You can use regular sized pieces of paper or a large piece of butcher paper. A site visitor shared that she uses the reverse side of wallpaper strips with her kids. This project is best done outdoors.
Sponge Stamping - You'll need some of those cheap kitchen sponges that are really flat and dried out when you first get them. Cut out a variety of shapes before they get wet and expand. Then turn the kids loose with the sponges to create sponge stamp paintings. This also makes great wrapping paper.
Color Mixing Experiment - Use paper plate and SMALL drops of primary colors (RED ~BLUE ~ YELLOW) and mix drops together to find out what colors you can make. After this add a drop of WHITE paint to the center to see how this affects the colors and to experiment with the ranges of each color you can mix.
String Mirror Image - Fold a piece of paper in half and open it back up. Dip a piece of string or yarn in paint and lay it on one side of the fold so that a piece of unpainted string hangs over the edge. You can do this with several strings and colors, or just one. Fold the paper back over the string and hold in place while you gently pull the string out from between the folds. When all of the strings have been removed, open up the page to reveal a mirror image made with string.
Crayon Resist Painting - Use a white crayon to draw anything you want on a white piece of paper. Then paint over the crayon using thinned paint or watercolors. You can use different color crayons on different colors of paper to make a different effect.
Negative Painting - Cut a sheet of white paper and a sheet of black paper in half and then tape (or glue) them back together so that you have two sheets that are half white and half black. Give the child a both black and white paint so that they can see that black paint doesn't show up on black paper and white paint doesn't show up on white paper. This is a good learning craft. You can also take it a step further by letting them paint with many different colors so that they can see how different it looks on each color of paper.
Leaf Outline Painting - Collect leaves and arrange them on a piece of paper. Use a sponge dipped in paint to dab around the leaf edges. Carefully lift the leaves to reveal your design.
Reverse Fingerpainting - Place a small amount of paint on a table. Have the child fingerpaint on the table. When the child has the design they want, help them lay a piece of white paper over the design and rub the paper all over. When you lift the paper, you'll have a reverse of the finger-painted image. After everyone is done painting, spray a little shaving cream on the table and let the children fingerpaint in it before they help to wipe up the mess. ~ Submitted
Anonymously
Puffy Paint Picture - Mix equal parts of flour, salt, and water to make puffy paint, and then color it any color you want with food coloring. Fill squeeze bottles with the paint mixture and then use them to create designs on thin pieces of cardboard (like the backs of cereal boxes). Let the pictures dry completely. When they dry the paint will be puffed up and it will sparkle.
~ Submitted by Leslie
This and more great info found at FreeKidCrafts.com
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