Turning Art Time With Toddlers Into More

We had a wonderful day last week. I wanted to let the kids do something fun, so I gathered up a bunch of paint, brushes, and two pieces of canvas paper. We got on our "make a mess" clothes and went outside and laid down an old sheet. I put a bunch of different paint colors into a small pallette and handed them different things to work with.


I started out by showing them what happens when you mix different colors. I showed them different tools to paint with, brushes, a sponge, tissue paper, a pouncer and of course their own little fingers. They had lots of fun seeing what each tool did. 

We are going to be homeschooling starting next year, and I was very skeptical of my ability to do it but after  this little activity I feel a little more confident in my abilities. I am actually excited to begin this new journey and see where we go. This wasn't an official lesson, since we haven't begun homeschooling but it was a nice little practice that was fun for them and me. 

This is a great sensory exercise too because they get to feel how the paint moves fluidly and see what each tool creates. 

My 2 year old really like the pouncer, because it made circles and he just learned all of his shapes.

And here's why it is important to have non-toxic paint.....

Yeh, he licked his paint covered finger....yuck! 

Also, as you can see, once their paper was covered they decided to paint on themselves and mommy's leg. 

They always want to get involved when I'm painting so I figured they would have a lot of fun creating their own art.  They loved their paintings and decided to give them to their Nana and Grandma for Mother's Day. 

So there you have it, a sensory activity, home-school lesson, handmade gift, and just fun art time all in one! 

We also had a little visitor....