You’ll appreciate our best preschool painting tips shared by mom bloggers who paint with their kids. Spend more time on the painting experience, and less time and stress on setup and cleanup, with these helpful tips.
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Painting activities provide kids with amazing creative play opportunities. But painting with preschoolers can get messy, making activities both exciting and stressful!
You look forward to a painting activity because:
Painting strengthens creative and fine motor skills.
It’s a fun way to spend the afternoon.
You avoid a painting activity because:
Painting takes time to set up.
There’s too much mess to clean up.
These tips and ideas will help you plan, deliver, and clean up a fun painting activity like a pro!
Many of our suggestions are based on using recycled household items, or basic supplies purchased at a dollar store. No fancy expensive equipment or materials needed!
Related: Benefits of Painting with Kids from The Artful Parent
9 Tips for Painting with Preschoolers
1. Designate a tote for paint supplies.
- Provide a small number of paint colors at a time.
- Purchase large bottles of paint to lower costs. Transfer paint to recycled containers such as yogurt pots or laundry bottle tops for everyday art sessions. Use spill-proof paint containers for more convenient use and storage.
- Include hand wipes (tip #2), drop cloths, and cover-ups (tip #5).
Related: Create a Go-To Craft Box
2. Include wipes in the paint supplies.
- This tip from The Resourceful Mama ensures messes are cleaned up throughout the painting activity.
- Options for wipes include: wet wipes; paper towels; washable cloths.
3. Provide one paint brush for each paint color.
- This tip is shared from Books and Giggles to help keep paint colors separated during the activity. Kids can then choose whether or not to mix colors in their paintings. This is especially helpful in groups with a wide range of ages and skill levels.
4. Recycle cardboard to use as a canvas.
- A cereal box is a nice size for a canvas, but any cardboard will do. Other packaging materials such as bubble wrap and burlap provide additional sensory experiences.
- Store cardboard pieces in the tote if there’s room, otherwise in a shoe box or shirt box for easy access.
5. Store drop cloths and cover-ups in the tote.
- The Moments at Home recommends a wipe-clean drop cloth such as a dollar store plastic tablecloth.
- Other options for drop cloths include: large pieces of cardboard; used towels; used shower curtain.
- Options for cover-ups include: oversize t-shirts; upcycled kitchen aprons; store-bought cover-ups with long sleeves.
6. Prepare a cleanup area ahead of time.
- Fill a sink or basin with warm water.
- Place a towel or dish rack next to the basin where items can be placed for drying.
7. Plan drying and display solutions for finished paintings.
- Options for a drying area include: a drop cloth spread out in a separate area on the table or floor: an art drying rack; a simple ‘clothesline’ where paintings can be secured with clothes pins.
- When dry, paintings can be hung in a display area in the classroom, or on a bulletin board or fridge door at home.
- If there is a large number of paintings, choose those to be ‘saved’ and those to be used for other projects such as greeting cards or decorations.
Related: Recycled Art Gift Tags from Creative Family Fun
Related: Creative Ways to Recycle Artwork from School Time Snippets
8. Invite open-ended painting experiences.
- Invite kids to paint with limited instruction, to welcome freedom of expression and reduce frustration. Open-ended experiences are often referred to a process art. This means the experience is all about the process, and not the result.
- Guide the activity in open-ended conversation. Ask kids to tell you about their paintings, or name the shapes and colors they are using.
I like all the red color in your painting.
What are you making in this part of the picture?
Related: The Benefits of Process Art from Nurture Store
Related: What is Process Art for Kids and Why is it Important? from Fun-A-Day
9. Define the painting area with an easel.
- This is a simple way to promote painting experiences. An easel can be placed in a convenient location in the preschool classroom or at home to provide an independent choice.
- Store paints, brushes, and cover-ups near the easel.
Painting with preschoolers is fun but it can also get a bit messy. I hope these suggestions help you provide fun and easy painting activities!
