Explore Through Movement and Play with Your Baby
Activity: Mess-Free Finger Painting
Note to parents and caregivers: Making art can start as soon as your baby can use their hands to move things around. Using fingers and hands to push paint on a piece of paper not only encourages art making at an early age, but it also builds fine motor skills, which we all need to do things like write and use scissors. Plus, putting the paper in a ziplock bag keeps the mess at a minimum.
Materials:
- Paper
- Gallon sized Ziplock bag that can seal shut
- Washable tempera paint
- Duct tape
Instructions:
- Open up a Ziplock bag and place the piece of paper inside.
- Pour small dots of paint directly onto the paper inside the bag.
- Seal the bag shut, allowing most of the air to escape it as you do.
- Cover the seal of the bag with duct tape, which will allow your baby to push on the bag without the bag bursting open.
- Place your baby in a highchair with the tray attached or in front of a flat surface like a table.
- Place the ziplock bag on the tray in front of your baby and show them how to push the paint around. If your baby keeps pushing the bag instead of the paint, tape the bag onto to the tray with duct tape.
- Once your baby is finished, open the bag and gently pull out the painting to dry.
Questions to Ask While You Play
- What is happening? What happens if you push the paint the other way?
- What happens when you push those two colors together?
- Can you think of another way to move the paint around?
Activities Prepared by:
Discovery Center Museum
URL: www.discoverycentermuseum.org/
Fun & educational science museum with exhibits, workshops, crafts & experiments for kids.
