Children enjoy painting. They love paint brushes and painting accessories. My little ones look forward to donning aprons or large t-shirts (which we have always used to protect clothes during their painting activities). They relish blending the colors and the final transfer of the paint to their paper as their imaginations run wild. Children even savor the feel of the paint all over their hands while finger-painting.
In order to make this activity more convenient, you need to keep the proper tools on hand. I am not a fan of the small tins of paints. Yes, they usually do contain a nice variety of colors all packaged together in a convenient container. However, the quality of the paint is poor and is difficult to use. The water children use to wet their paint usually muddies easily and then the paint colors run together in the tin.
I prefer to purchase large bottles of washable tempera paint in a variety of colors. When my children are ready to paint, I pour reasonable amounts of the individual colors into small containers (such as empty egg cartons) and I assign a paint brush to each color. The only catch is that a child might have to wait a moment for a particular color. This is a nice lesson in sharing!
Keep high-quality, heavy duty brushes on hand. 50-pound paper is also a great product for your children to work with. Utilizing quality products will certainly enhance your children’s painting experience. Lakeshore Learning offers all of these products at reasonable prices. You can order equipment from their website or find a store near you.
Children love to paint. Yes, it’s a little messy. However, the experience is worth it!
“There is no royal road to learning; no short cut to the acquirement of any art.” -Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers
