Easy Paint Projects for Preschoolers

by Lauri Griffin | More from this Blogger

09 Apr 2007 12:59 PM

Take three boys, add a great preschool art program - and what you get is a big stack of art projects. I don't know what to do with all the papers. My boys are all well beyond preschool age, and I doubt that they will ever want 100 or so decaying tempera paint and construction paper projects. But it's hard on my mama-heart to throw any of the papers out. They were so proud, and they learned so much. The pictures make me remember their chubby little paint-stained fingers.

They really did have a great preschool. Art teaches confidence, problem solving, observation skills, science, and so much more. I thought I'd share some of the ideas for easy painting projects with you.

Marble Painting: Take an open sturdy box that is big enough to put a piece of paper flat on the bottom. Put in your paper, add a couple of marbles and a few small squirts of paint. You can use one color, or two colors that will mix nicely. It's a good color mixing lesson if you use two primaries like blue and yellow, or yellow and red. Let the child tilt the box. The marbles will roll through the paint and make fun designs on the paper. Another fun way to do this is to roll up a paper in an oatmeal container, add the marbles and paint and pop on the lid. This is a great method for kids who can't seem to keep the marbles in the box. You don't get to watch the marbles paint, but it is fun to see what the picture turns out to be.

Toy Car Painting: Take a few toy cars. Roll them into a blob of paint, and make tire tracks across the paper. My boys loved to do this. Again, if you use two primary colors, you can learn about color mixing, too. You can also talk about straight and curved lines.

Berry Baskets: Dip an empty plastic berry basket into paint, then press onto paper. The basket will make all kinds of great patterns.

If you have preschoolers, I encourage you to get out the paint and enjoy those paint-stained fingers and proud smiles. That period of childhood doesn't last long.

More Easy Art Projects:

Paint and String Art

Crayon Rubbings

Thumbprint Art

Learn more about Lauri Griffin

Lauri lives in Colorado with her husband and three sons. Amidst all the laundry and packing of lunches, she tries to keep parenting fun.

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Valorie Delp (49340) 10 Apr 2007 08:19 PM

I love doing marble painting.

Lauri Griffin (2703) 12 Apr 2007 04:00 PM

It really is fun. It's one of those ideas where I think to myself, "Why didn't I think of that?"

JMcReynolds (95) 01 Apr 2008 08:39 AM

They did some painting at the library the other day and the librarian gave them some of the painting tools people use on walls - they made lines and swirls and sponge paint pictures. This sounds fun too.