Ok, so summer is here, get outside with your kiddies and cause some painting chaos…This had to be one of the funniest art activities I’ve done with my boys…It was too much fun!!! They got dressed up as superheros, and pretended their spray bottles where supersonic superhero squirters!!! and just had a complete blast!!! Paint ended up all over the garden, covering the terrace, trees, and flowers!!! But it was worth it just to see their happy smiling faces. You are never too young for fun!!! Once dried, the pictures looked incredible, I think they deserve to be framed, given as presents to lucky family members at Christmas!!! (you know who you are)
I took this activity to school, and explored it with the little class I teach. This time, however there was no washing line for them to squirt, so I was dancing around the green holding up huge pieces of card trying my hardest not to get paint shot at me!!! It was so brilliant and the results were incredible…I had little children rolling around on the grass in laughter, trying to spray Miss Lexi, while I danced around like a wholly with these huge pieces of card acting as shields but also creating some seriously cool pieces of art work, that all the parents loved.
So despite this activity causing mayhem, with the potential to either cover you or your surroundings in paint, it is 100% well worth it!!!
what you need…
- 2 or 3 different coloured washable paints that mix well, i usually always make sure one is white to avoid 3 colours mixing to a brown sludgy colour
- water sprays from a garden centre
- a little bit of water to thin the paint if needed
- large pieces of card
- string
- pegs
what to do…
- make sure you and your children are well covered, aprons, smocks, old clothes preferable or a good tub of vanish ready for the washing marathon afterwards!!!
- then cover the area you are wishing to use with some old newspaper or plastic matting, or if you are outside in big grassy space don’t worry the paint will wash away with the rain!!!
- make a washing line with some string from tree to tree (this isn’t necessary, can just be done on the floor or grass)
- peg up your large pieces of card onto the washing line
- fill each water spray with a paint and add some water to thin the paint to help it spray more efficiently
- find a child and give them a spray
- ready…steady…go!!!!
- good luck!!!
then into a little dream adventure…
- exploring other printing activities outside…so fun taking the inside activity outside, creates a totally different feel and dimension to the activity at hand
- explore the artist Jackson Pollock, look at his fabulous art work…one of the most famous painters of the Abstract Expressionist movement, he poured, flicked and dripped paint onto canvas using sticks, brushes and chicken basters to apply the paint…maybe your littlie could be the next Pollock?!!!
