Wednesday, April 11, 2012

Mess-Free Finger Painting

I found this project on Pinterest and it has been a big hit with my kiddos! I love it because there are no hands, tables, faces, floors, or hair to wash afterwards. It truly is mess-free!

This project is fun for all kiddos, but it also has a great benefit for those who deal with sensory issues. If the feeling of finger paint doesn't appeal to your kiddo, this is a fantastic project to try with them! They don't get messy or sticky hands, but can "squish" the paint around the bag without the sensory overload the paint may cause some kiddos. It could be the first step to getting them to touch paint again (or for the first time) by gently easing them into it.

Kids can "draw" pictures, practice writing numbers, letters, and shapes. You can teach about primary and secondary colors- mixing colors to make others. Older kids could play "tic tac toe" or "hang man". The possibilities are endless and there are ideas for all age groups with this. Awesome benefits from this very simple idea!





Instructions for Mess-Free Painting

Fill a 1 gallon ziplock bag with washable finger paint. You could use tempera paint too, but I use the washable paint in case one of the kiddos tears a hole in the bag and gets some on their clothes. A few squirts of each color will work just fine. Use as few or as many colors as you wish! 

Lay a white piece of paper on the table (I use scratch paper- helpin' the planet by re-using!), then lay the bag of paint on top of the paper. 

Tape the bag to your table with painter's tape. Painter's tape is the safest for your table, but I'm sure masking tape would work just as well. I'd stay away from packing tape or duct tape. Scotch tape doesn't hold these very well- I've tried when I ran out of painter's tape. 

That's it! Let the kids explore and create! 



13 comments:

  1. Love love love this idea! My boys are three and one and will have a blast with this!

    Stopping by from follow me wednesday and new follower to you!

    have a great day!

    ~samantha
    www.thepeanutsgang.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great idea!! Following you back from the blog hop!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What an AWESOME idea! seriously i'm going to use it next time i'm looking after a bored kiddo :D thanks for following :D returning the love!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi, I am your newest follower from the Newbie Blog Hop. This is a pretty cool idea! I am going to have to try it this weekend. I think this is a great mess free stress free project. Thanks for sharing!

    http://singlemominspiration.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have two toddlers that like to paint the dogs if I look away during art time, so this is a great idea for them!

    ReplyDelete
  6. wish I would have known about this when my kids were little!! would have saved me hours of clean up!!
    i am your newest follower from the hop..pls follow back if you can.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great idea! I've got to try this with my kiddies!
    Cheers,
    Char

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awesome idea! My daughter is so messy but so creative. I'm OCD so you can imagine! On my blog I have homemade finger paint recipe. It's under the Easter section. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and visiting my blog yesterday! http://naptimeshopper.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is a great idea! My kids don't mind getting messy with finger paints but I mind the lengthy clean up that is involved ;) Thanks for sharing this!
    Laundry Care

    ReplyDelete
  10. What fun!! New follower from the blog hop, would love a follow back.

    http://cumminslife.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi! I discovered your blog thru Char's Blog hop! Your blog is amazing plus you're just adorable and your little boy too.

    Visit my site if you have time! :)

    xoxo,
    ochibernadas.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love how this could be an activity you could do any any time and not worry about the mess that will occur from finger painting. This would be a great activity to try with my little ones.

    -Veronica @ http://watchmeplaynlearn.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete