Art Idea #2 Finger Painting

Children love to finger paint, but parents don't always like the mess. Use a large tray or cookie sheet to contain the substance. Finger painting is a great sensory experience for children, and you can use it as a fun learning tool. If you don't have a smock, use an old shirt with the sleeves cut off to protect clothes.

Here are some things you can let your child experiment with for finger painting:
1. Pudding
2. Shaving cream
3. Cook some cornstarch and water until thickened, add food color
4. Mix some flour and water together, add food color
5. Store bought finger paint (add a little liquid soap)
6. Use two different colors that will make a third to teach about color mixing. (red and blue makes purple, yellow and red makes orange, yellow and blue makes green). There are some fun books that talk about color mixing to extend activity into story time.

Ideas to extend finger painting:
1. Have your child practice writing letters, numbers, their name with one finger.
2. After they make a picture, take a piece of paper and make a print of it by pressing paper down over finger paint and lifting it carefully.
3. Give them plastic fork or plastic knife or other safe kitchen objects to make patterns in finger paint.
4. Add some salt to make a different texture.
5. Tape some bubble wrap to the tray and put finger paint on top of it; this makes a totally different feel to it. Make a print of this picture too.