Fun Painting Ideas

Master 2 would give anything for me to leave him at Kinder with his big brother when we drop him off. I have to say I find myself bribing him with the chance to "paint" once we get home if he will leave! (Which I have to say is not easy, and yes he throws the wonderful 2-year-old tantrum in frustration that I'm removing him from somewhere he loves!) Like most 2 year olds Master 2 would paint all day, every day if given the chance. Below I have listed some Fun Painting Ideas that we use at home.

Koosh Ball Painting

Hang a long piece of paper on your outside fence. Place pans of paint and Koosh balls on the ground. Encourage the children to throw the Koosh balls at the paper. This makes a great design and is a lot of fun. If possible have the children do this activity

Outdoor Water Painting

On a hot summer day give your children outdoor paint brushes and buckets of water. Let them paint the fence, walls of the cubby, or anything else they think needs to be painted.

Kelly Crystal Painting

Sprinkle jelly crystals on a piece a paper. Let the children move a piece of ice over the jelly crystals. Watch as the jelly crystals turn to liquid and makes a yummy smelling picture.

Outdoor Chalk Creation

Give children pieces of chalk to draw on the sidewalk or ground. After the children have created their masterpieces give them buckets of water and paintbrushes. They can then paint over their drawings and watch them disappear.

Golf Ball Pool Painting

Cut out a large piece of paper and put it in the bottom of a plastic pool. Place golf balls dipped in different paint colors on the paper. Together the children can hold the edges of the pool and roll the golf balls around. This makes a great design when you are done.

Coloured Water Fence Painting

Hang a long piece of bulletin board paper on your outside fence. Give the children bottles of coloured water and let them squirt the paper. This is a lot of fun and a great way to see how secondary colors are made. For example spray blue and yellow water on the paper to make a beautiful green design.

Splatter Fence Painting

Hang a long piece of bulletin board paper on your outside fence. Give the children buckets of paint and paint brushes have them flick the paint onto the paper. Watch out this can get pretty messy. If you can have the children wear their bathing suits.

Fly Swatter Painting

Hang a long piece of bulletin board paper on your outside fence. Have the children place fly swatters into pans of paint and then swat the paper. This is always a favourite activity.

Sand Box Painting

Give the children spray bottles with colored water. When the children spray the sand it will change colour until they shovel it up. This always amazes the children.

Sun Catchers

Cut the inside out of a paper plate for each child. Place clear contact paper with the covering removed over the hole. Have each child stick pieces of bright tissue paper all over his contact paper. When the child is done place another piece of contact paper over the tissue paper. Hang the sun catchers from your ceiling or windows.

Lid Sun catchers

Punch a hole at the top of different sized clear lids. Allow the children to spread glue over the lid and then cover it with bright tissue paper for a stunning sun catcher. Or mix corn syrup and a lot of food coloring, paint the lids with this mixture and let dry for a rainbow sun catcher. With both of these sun catchers thread a ribbon through the hole and hang in front of your window.

Corn Meal Sun

Cut a large circle out of poster board Have the children paint it yellow with a paint and glue mixture. While the paint and glue mixture is still wet sprinkle the sun with corn meal.

Sunflowers

Help your children paint their own paper plate yellow. After the paint has dries glue yellow crepe paper around the edges and glue sunflower seed in the center. If the children want they can attach a green stem.

Sunflower Hand prints

Use your children's hands to make a summery sunflower picture.
Paint the child hand yellow and place it on the paper. Continue to make hand prints until you have made a complete circle. Then let the child use her thumb to make brown seeds in the center. Use green paint to make a stem and some grass.

Blueberry Painting

Give your children blueberries to look at, touch, smell, and taste. After the children have observed the blueberries add a little water to them and cook them in the microwave for one minute. Have the children help you mush them up. Use the blueberry juice to paint a beautiful blue blueberry picture.

Shadow Tracing

On a sunny day take some chalk outside and let your children trace each others and your shadow. When the outline is complete fill the shadow in with facial features and whatever you are wearing.

Car Track/Train Track Painting

Put different coloured colours of paint on paper plates. Let your child push a small car or

train back and forth in the paint and then make tracks on the paper.

Balloon Painting

Blow up balloons and rub them on to paint (best to put paint on paper plates) then roll balloons onto paper. Children love seeing all the colours merge together.

'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 Loof

Sponges

Stamps

Stencils

Plastic lids from containers (to make circles)

Wheels from toy cars

Other Painting Tools
Blow Paints

Squirt bottle

Eye dropper

Old or Cheap Toys

Paint Variations
Water color

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)