Browse All Activities:
-
View by Ages +
- All about Me
- Anything Silly
-
Around the House +
-
Artistic Endeavors +
-
Basic Skills +
- Birthdays
- Building Memory Skills
- Building Things
- Building Vocabulary
- Cars, Trucks and Things that Go
- Cinco de Mayo
-
Crafts +
- Crafts: Found Items
- Crafts: From the Store
- Crafts: Household Items
- Crafts: Kitchen Items
- Crafts: Recycled Items
- Crafts: The Supply Closet
- Dinosaurs
- Firefighters
- Fireworks
- Fun for the Littlest Ones
-
Games +
- Gift-Giving
- Grocery Store Fun
- History Lesson
-
Holidays +
- July 4th
- Memories
- Money
- New Year's Day
- No Shopping Required!
- Parties and Playdates
- Photography
- Pirates
- Quiet Time
- Safety
- Scavenger Hunts
-
Seasonal Activities +
-
Singing and Dancing +
- Snack Time
- Splash!
- Sports
- St. Patrick's Day
- Story Time
-
The Natural World +
- Trains
- Traveling and Waitinging and Waiting
Advertisement
Art: Paint
Painting with Straws
Drop a couple of drops of paint onto a piece of paper, and give your child a straw to blow the paint with. Be sure that they just use the straw as a blower -- something to move the paint around with. Some kids like to put their straws directly into the paint. Kids love doing this, but be careful with their clothes. Things can get a bit ...(read more)
Bubble Painting
In a cup, mix equal parts of water and dishwashing liquid (not dishwasher detergent). Add paint to this mixture until you get the color you want. Use a straw to blow bubbles in the paint mixture until the bubbles froth up a bit over the cup -- older kids can do this part on their own. Your child can then gently lay a piece of paper on ...(read more)
Pantry Painting
Painting doesn't have to be limited to paint brushes. You can use lots of different painting tools to produce different artistic results. Some ideas include: feathers, twigs or leaves, eyedroppers, toothbrushes, vegetable and pastry brushes Also, try adding something to change the texture of the paint. Add flour to make it lumpy; Karo syrup to make it shiny and sticky; sand or sawdust ...(read more)
Sponge Painting
Cut several sponges into simple shapes: rectangles, triangles, circles, squares. You can get fancy and make a few stars or fish too! Use the sponges to dip into children's poster paint and sponge away on heavy set paper. You can create patterns, objects made from your shapes... Just remember to put on the smock!(read more)
Sunflower Still Lifes
Put one or two sunflowers in a vase. Provide your child with green and yellow paint and brushes, and ask him/her to paint a picture of the sunflower(s). Sunflowers are big and impressive and remarkably easy to paint. Even a child with beginning art skills can succeed at painting a beautiful still life.(read more)
Painting Plexiglass
Preschoolers love to paint, and they are still learning cooperative play. This activity allows them to work on both! Get a large rectangle of plexiglass and create a base with two boards nailed together on the bottom of the short side of the rectangle. Create a foot for the base with plywood so it has some stability. Basically, the end product will look like a standing ...(read more)
Cookie Cutter Painting
Collect several different shaped cookie cutters, holiday ones are especially fun. Place thin sponges in pie tins and pour on tempera paint in desired colors. Show your child how to press the cookie cutters onto the sponges, then onto paper to make prints. You can also use this to learn about mixing primary colors to make secondary colors.(read more)
Foil Painting
Roll out a piece of foil about the size of a piece of construction paper. Squirt two or three colors of paint onto the foil. Give your child a Q-tip and let him or her draw designs or a picture in the paint. This is a wonderfully artistic activity! After the paint dries, glue a piece of paper onto the back of the foil to mount the picture. (read more)
Painting with Marbles
Place a white sheet of paper on a cookie sheet or other pan with taller sides. Place several drops of paint (different colors) on the paper. Then, place a few marbles in the pan, have your child roll them around, and see what designs can be made!(read more)
Body Paint
Kids love to paint and will be so excited to paint their own body!! This activity is perfect for a warm day outside! To create your own body paint, combine non-toxic, washable powdered tempera paint and baby shampoo. Then head outside and let your child go to town painting himself and you, if you're brave!(read more)
Handprint Rainbow
Celebrate a rainy springtime day by making a keepsake rainbow with your child's hand print. Dip you child's hand in red finger paint and then make multiple hand prints in the shape of rainbow's arc. Repeat with the other colors of the rainbow until you and your child think it looks finished. Rainbows can be hard to find, but with this project you'll be able to enjoy ...(read more)
Shaken Paintings
This art project is especially great for toddlers who love to shake and rattle things. Roll up a piece of white or light-colored paper and place inside a clean, empty Pringles can. Using a spoon if necessary, coat 3 or 4 marbles, one at a time into different colors of paint. Place them in the Pringles can as well. Let your toddler, shake, rattle, and roll the ...(read more)
Fireworks Painting
Let your child dump a spoonful of brightly colored paint on a black sheet of construction paper. Using a toothpick, spread the paint out in thin lines away from the middle. Before the paint dries, sprinkle glitter on the page. Hang the painting on the wall to celebrate New Year's Day or the 4th of July.(read more)
Shape Paint Blotting
This is a fun painting activity. Cut out a symmetrical shape, a butterfly, heart, circle, square, etc. and fold exactly in half. Then, have your child paint a design on half of the shape and then fold in half, pressing down completely on the whole shape. Unfold. You will get a beautiful creation!(read more)
Mirror Transfer
Have your child paint a masterpiece with kid's craft paint on the mirror. Carefully place a white piece of construction paper on top of their art work and lift off. The painted picture transfers onto the paper and makes a pretty cool texture. Wipe off the mirror and do it again!(read more)
Q-Tip Painting
Draw a simple picture on a piece of construction paper. For example, a large tree. Then show your child how to fill in the picture by using just the tip of a cotton swap. This will create "dots" of color that blend together to make a whole. It is fun to watch your child try to fill up all the white spaces without using a brush ...(read more)
Vegetable Painting
A good activity for a day when you are cleaning out your refrigerator. Do you have a wrinkled red pepper in there? Some floppy broccoli? Sprouted potatoes? They're not good for eating, but they are good for a little art project. Instead of the usual paint brush, have your preschooler use these to make interesting textures and shapes in their paintings. (A cut ...(read more)
Ziploc Bag Painting
A fun way to teach colors and color mixing (red and white make pink, etc) with less mess. Take large storage bags and have your child pour a little paint, just one color, in the bag (if you have paint with squirt tops, that's even better!). Then, have them choose another color and have them guess what color it will make. Pastel paints work great because they ...(read more)
Painting with Cars
Cover a table with butcher paper. Using washable paint, put some into little trays. Then, take a few little cars that have tread on their tires. Dip into paint and roll onto paper. Mix it up by using a few different colors.(read more)
Wintry Painting
Directions for making Crystal Paint: Combine 1 cup Epsom salt with 1/2 cup of water in a bowl. Add a few drops of food coloring or liquid tempera paint to make different colors. Be sure to mix the paint well and store in a small jar. Using the Crystal Paint, have your child paint a winter scene onto a piece of dark construction paper. ...(read more)
Homemade Color Chart
Draw a big circle with black marker on a large white piece of paper or poster board. Divide the circle into six sections, like a pie. Have your little one help you color in one pie section with red paint (finger paint is especially good), leave the next one blank, then fill the next one in yellow, then blank, then blue. Next step: in the blank spaces between ...(read more)
Bubble Wrap Art
Don't throw away the bubble wrap protecting your valuable shipments -- save it for a fun art project! Protect your table with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth, and put several colors of tempera paint onto a paper plate. Give your child a large paintbrush or sponge brush, and have her paint the bubble side of the bubble wrap. Once the bubble wrap is covered, gently press a ...(read more)
Winter Windows
Add a small amount of liquid dish soap to white tempera paint. Mix it thoroughly. Have your child paint pictures or designs on a window. Cover the windows with plastic wrap and let the paint sit overnight. The next day, remove the plastic wrap from the windows and you'll see your frosty "winter" window come to life! **By including the liquid detergent, the paint ...(read more)
String Painting
Dip some yarn or thick string into tempera paint. Drag, swirl or twirl the string onto construction paper that has been folded in half. Use several different colors if desired. Open the construction paper back up and fold the paper back over to imprint the string art design and to see the beautiful symmetry.(read more)
Flower Handprints
A cute variation on the hand print. Dip your child's hand in paint (or paint her hand with a paintbrush). Place painted hand on construction paper with fingers spread out. Repeat two more times to make 3 hand prints side by side. Glue a strip of green paper below each hand print to look like a stem. Cut out leaf shapes from the green paper ...(read more)
Burlap Prints
Place the newsprint on your table or other flat surface. Tape the piece of burlap on the newsprint. Have your child use paintbrushes or sponges to paint the burlap. When your child has finished painting, lift the burlap from the newsprint and allow it to dry. Display your child's new masterpiece by hanging it on the wall or by using clear contact paper to "laminate" the art ...(read more)
Apple Star Stamps
Use apples to create beautiful, homemade stamps. Cut the apples along the equator to expose the core, which creates a great star stamper. Kids can dip the apples in paper plates of tempera paints and stamp on paper. Let the stamps dry and add drawings to your apple stamps.(read more)
Cool Ice Cube Painting
During this activity, help your child to observe how colors can create different feelings and how certain colors can seem "cool" (blue, green, purple). Sprinkle a small amount (about 1 Tbsp.) of "cool" colored powdered tempera paints such as purple, blue and green, on any light colored construction or thick paper. Have your child paint a cool, blue ocean by using an ice cube as their "paintbrush" and ...(read more)
Handprint Tree
This is a really fun way to help your toddler make a cute art project. Paint the inside of your child's forearm brown then press it down on a piece of white paper. This will be the trunk of the tree. Then dip (or paint with a brush) your child's hand in green paint. Press down several times overlapping to make the leaves of the tree. ...(read more)
Painting with Golf Balls
Take an old shoe box or shirt box and put a piece of construction paper in it. Then take some poster paint and dab it on the paper in the box. Next place a golf ball in the box and have your child tilt the box all around so the ball smears the paint to create a picture. It's lots of fun! Black paper with white ...(read more)
T-Shirt Masterpieces
Personalize your child's very own t-shirt by painting it to make it his or her own. To begin, support the t-shirt with piece of cardboard and place wax paper between the cardboard and t-shirt so the paint doesn't stick. Next, let your child decide on a design -- a rainbow, a self-portrait, an abstract design...the sky's the limit! Then you and your child can create a t-shirt ...(read more)
Advertisement
5 Things to Have in Your Dress-Up Bin, and How to Help Your Preschooler Choose a Halloween Costume
We love thinking about our little ones' wild and ever-churning imaginations and Halloween together. The holiday seems made-to-order for the preschooler mind (not to mention the preschooler sweet tooth). Dressing up on Halloween night, and for all the Halloween parties and parades that tend to
Take Our Expert Quiz
how is your toddler or preschooler progressing developmentally?
Advertisement