Is there anything quite as satisfying to a young child as squishing paint between his fingers? Probably not. There is also probably nothing quite as nerve wracking to mom! It doesn’t have to be, though. I started my kids with finger painting at about 20 months. This is a fantastic exercise for building gross motor skills, and even fine motor skills when they are a bit older. The swooshing patterns are rather hypnotic to the preschooler, and the options for color and pattern are quite varied. Cleanup isn’t as bad as it might seem if you just strip them to a diaper, put an old towel underneath them, and plan on bath time fun afterwards. (Note, though, that you want to get WASHABLE finger paint so that it is less likely to stain cloth and skin.)
Still not convinced that you want to tackle finger paint? Just think about having the little art and prints that your toddler’s chubby little dimpled hands made after he’s grown big. The picture above is a collage of at least 20 different fingerpaintings that my son did when he was tiny. It was his first art, and I didn’t want to just chuck it, but honestly, what does one do with that many fingerpaintings? I cut my most favorite parts out of each and glued them, collage style on a board and stuck it in a frame. I still love it! One of the little squares of green has a swipe of all four of is fingers. The swatch is only a few inches wide–how little he was! Some of the rest of the papers I saved for use in collages over the years.
Ok, so how does a mother finger paint with a 2 year old and not lose her sanity? First, do this activity over something besides carpet. We were always in the kitchen. And, wear old clothes yourself so accidental bumps into a glob here or there isn’t a disaster. Second, teach your child the ‘scrubbed doctor’ pose with his hands. You know, hands held up in front of his body, not touching anything. That is the pose to assume when they need a new sheet of paper or are walking to the sink for a clean up. Third, I taught the mantra "Only on the paper!" Both of my children were always very careful and only once ever deliberately painted something they weren’t supposed to. There were a couple of smudges on the counters and such, but never anything that made me crazy. Even my silly, precocious child was careful since she knew a deliberate mess meant no more paint, markers, or whatever. So, honestly, it wasn’t all that messy or crazy-making. If you still think the house is no place for finger paint, what about the yard with a run through the sprinklers afterward. Now that would earn you the title of World’s Coolest Mom!
The Details...
As far as the actual method for painting, I just taped down some paper, sprinkled with water, and glopped on some paint. One color first, then we built up to more colors. I know some people have their kids make actual pictures with fingerpaint, and I’ve seen some good ones. But I always preferred to just let the kids mess around with the paint at this stage. I didn’t want to restrict their creativity or exploration since kids’ capacity for just smearing the paint into patterns seems boundless. There is plenty of time for ‘real’ artistic instruction. Right now we are just getting the hang of having a fun, colorful, productive experience without making mom crazy. That’s enough restriction...
You might show them, however, different things they can do–swirls, stripes, prints... If you are very brave you might let them try patterns and prints of other parts of their body–elbows, forearms, nose, even a foot. I never actually did this...My mother the preschool teacher said it was great for coordination, but my thought was that if I allowed it once I would have a hard time not allowing it another time when I didn’t want the mess. So we threw balls for coordination instead. :o)
An alternative or additional method of doing finger paints with your kids is to get the bath paints that are available. My kids loved them.
Other Tips:
*The Paper:Use great big sheets of paper. Don’t try to be skimpy, your child will only run off the paper and make a bigger mess (ask me how I know!). A cheap alternative to fingerpaint paper is freezer paper. It’s also more readily available at your supermarket than art paper. Tape the paper to the table on all corners before painting begins.
*The Paint: Just buy red, yellow, blue, and white finger paint. The paint is $2-3 per jar, but it will last you through several kids. The rest of the colors can easily be made by your child mixing them together. I have heard of people making their own by cooking cornstartch and water into a goo and adding washable tempera paint. I’ve never tried it, though, so I don’t know how it works.
*Keep a dish of water handy and sprinkle a few drops on the painting when the paint is getting tacky. It will revive the paint for a few more minutes so the child can finish his work.
*Have a spot ready to put completed paintings. I actually just un-stuck them from the table and taped them to the window above our art spot. It was high, out of the way, and any wayward paint was easily wiped off later.
*I know some people put a toddler in a high chair. We never had a highchair, but I am thinking that the relatively restrictive space of the tray might actually cause more mess than it solves. I don’t know...Don’t discount using a regular table, perhaps with a booster seat, or kids’ sized table to allow them to spread out a bit.
*Above all, have fun with you little one and be amazed at his creations–he certainly will be!
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