Working with paint...and more
With just paint and a brush, kids can learn all about lines, shapes, and the power of their own movement. They'll get satisfaction from filling up a blank paper with bold colors with just a few strokes of a brush.
So get out our smocks and washable paint (and maybe a few other tools, once you get comfortable), and start painting! Once you've gotten comfortable with paint, here are a few ideas for branching out a little...
Experimenting with household tools
Gather some household items from your kitchen, junk drawer, or recycling bin--like sponges, brushes (vegetable brush, old toothbrush, scrub brushes), bottle lids or yogurt containers, etc. Cover a big table or put a tarp on the floor and set out big paper if you have it. Fill a shallow dish with paint (not too deep). Allow kids to use the household materials as in place of brushes and stamps, and watch them explore. This is a great way to give them experience with different materials.
As they paint, talk with them about the marks they make and the differences among the marks made with each of the tools they try. For older kids, you might want to show them the work of Jackson Pollack or Franz Kline and talk about how painters can make decisions about the way they use materials and paints, and experiment to create new styles.
Homemade Stamps: You can use the same kinds of household materials for a stamp project. For a homemade stamp pad, use a household sponge. Pour some paint on the sponge and fold it in half to blot it and let it soak into the surface of the sponge. You can then blot the household tool on the sponge as you would a stamp pad, and then stamp the image on your paper.
The above painting techniques were based on an article on www.familyfun.com which has lots of great craft ideas for all kinds of occassions.
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Fingerprints
Perhaps a tidier version of fingerpainting, your kids can have a lot of fun with fingerprints. Set up the homemade stamp pad (mentioned above) and let them use their fingers to make art. Try making a snowman from three thumbprints stacked on each other (add details like arms and a hat with markers), or let them try to create an entire scene using fingerprints from different colors. Show them artwork by Chuck Close (an artist who painted larger-than-life portraits using nothing but fingerprints) or Claude Monet (the waterlillies painter--he made beautiful landscapes with dabs of paint on a brush). After the kids have painted, let them stand back and admire their work from a distance. Talk about how it look different from farther away as the colors blend together.
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Museum-worthy masterpiece
This makes a nice gift for father's day or for grandparents. Have your kids paint on stretched canvas for a museum-worthy work of art. At your local craft store, you can buy pre-stretched, pre-primed canvases. The extra-deep ones (1") will look best. First, paint one solid color on the entire canvas to give your kids an under-coat (this will make their painting look more vibrant than if the white canvas were showing through.) Then, give them washable paints, letting them use just a brush or some of the techniques above. Let them do their own thing, but check out a few of our tips on talking with children about their art, including suggesting when to stop painting (you might not want their canvas to turn into a brown mush.)
After they've finished and their paintings have dried, spray them with a clear acrylic matte finish. This will provide a little protection. Give it a few coats of this, letting it dry in between. Then, it's ready to hang.
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As always, try to talk with your children to keep them thinking, and keep them encouraged. Click here for simple ideas on how to talk about art with your child.
Note: I look at all kinds of books, magazines and websites for ideas. I try to make them my own. But some of the activities you find here may be based on some of the great resources that are out there. Please let me know if you think I've neglected to source something and I will fix it. I hope you like the collection of ideas I've provided.