Finger Painting

Finger Painting

Approximate Time Frame: 1 hour

Activity: WONDER

Area of Learning: Creative Expression

Photo by Bernard Hermant

“Make a wonderful masterpiece with just your fingers and paint!”

Use fall colours and your little fingers to paint a picture or a colourful background for you to hang on your wall. Perhaps you can even think of someone to make it for!

Process

• Set up your art space by covering the table and putting on a paint shirt

• Have your child choose 1-3 colours that they would like to use for their exploration.

• Put a “blob” of paint on a lid or paper plate and invite your child to use their hands and fingers to make art.

• Ask them what kind of lines, shapes, marks can they make?

• Invite them to just explore rather than painting a specific picture.

Materials

• kid-friendly finger paint

• paint shirt

• table cover

• napkins to wipe hands

• container for paint

• Don’t have finger paint? (Try using yogurt with a little food colouring in it)

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Child role

• Help your parent set up your art space

• Get your paint shirt on!

• Did you know that artists get their hands messy sometimes and thats ok! Don’t worry, when you are all done, you will wash your hands clean. Just have fun getting messy!

• Put your hands in the paint. What does it feel like? What can you create with your paint using your hands and fingers!

• Have fun exploring!

Parent role

• If you have a child that doesn’t like to get their hands dirty, invite them to explore (you can model) and explain to them that artists get their hands messy and thats ok.

• If they are not comfortable, try using just one finger, working their way to all of the fingers, then hands.

• Messy play is great for little kiddos sensory development.

• Give your child room to just explore.