Let your kids mix it up with painting this weekend. And I'm not talking about mixing colors, although that's tons of fun, too. Get out the paints but leave the brushes behind. See what else you and your kids can think of to paint with instead.
Above are five ideas to get you started and I'm sure you can find many other tools and implements around your house. And, of course, finger painting is always a hit.
- Fork-scrape painting at The Imagination Tree
- Marble painting at Let the Children Play
- "Snap" painting with rubber bands at Joyfully Weary
- Bubble painting at Life as a Thrifter
- Pendulum painting at Getting Messy with Ms. Jessi
(Images: as credited above)
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letting the kids invent new "brushes" is always a hit- and makes for big messes and much more spontaneous art that is often stuff you can use in your home as modern art that can rival any art you can muster (I'm a real artist, and do a lot of modern art. My kids love to paint alongside me- and often give me inspiration for my pieces. People visiting our home often say they like the large canvases our kids have painted, and ask me how I did them. I always give credit to my 4 year old.... haha.)
Also, a kid feels a LOT more artistic if you can give them good quality paints, and a REAL canvas. Go to the nearest craft store, they are not that expensive. If you want the painting to look quality, encourage your kid to first cover the whole canvas in just a few colors. Then let it dry- And then go on top of that with their designs/pictures/other ideas.
The background paint layer helps make it all look quite professional even when the kids do it.
We call our painting nights Zen Painting. The kids know they don't have to paint actual objects like flowers or birds if they don't want to. They understand the fun and spontaneity that happens with no real goals in mind other than to create beauty and non-representational shapes and colors.
Tools we have used.... twigs and bush branches... leaves... spatulas, wisks, sponges, collages with found objects, old toothbrushes, straws for blowing paint... dripping paint, spinning your canvas while trying to paint.... string as your paintbrush- and of course, fingers.
Q-tips make great brushes too.
Gosh, I kind of dread the part of becoming a parent where you have to pretend you love your kids' art. I would definitely fill my home with these if my kid did them, since I think it is monstrous not to encourage creativity etc., but I would probably cringe inwardly until they were old enough to be taken down without hurting anyone's self esteem.
Fun! I'm a preschool teacher and we've painted with (new) fly swatters, celery stalks, toothbrushes, rollers, rubber balls, apples, you name it!