Painting for Kids

Easy painting for kids to try out. Simple ideas with step by step instructions.

Have a look below for some really fun childrens art projects and you'll have your kids painting away before you know it!

These projects work just as well at home as they do at school, nursery or kindergarten. So don't worry about the mess, just let your kids get stuck in and you might even have as much fun helping as they do painting!

Bubble Painting

This is a really simple and fun painting project for kids. Just make sure to remind them to blow through their straws and not to suck (but always use non-toxic paint just in case)!

You will need: a small shallow pot, bright poster paint, washing-up liquid and a straw.
Firstly, dilute a couple of spoonfulls of paint with a little water, then add a generous squirt of washing-up liquid. Whisk it up to make it frothy, then blow into the mixture though your straw to form a big mound of painty bubbles.
Grab a piece of paper and press it gently onto the bubbles. Hold it in position for a few seconds then lift it away to reveal a printed, bubbly pattern.
Experiment with different coloured paper and paints to create contrasting effects. One of our favourites is to print white bubbles onto light blue paper to make a really lovely cloudy sky.

Finger Painting

Most of our painting for kids sessions finish up with some impromptu finger painting. However, it is also nice to set up a specific finger painting activity and see where the technique leads as the kids experiment and create.

You'll need quite thick paint for effective finger painting. You can either buy special finger paints or you can thicken up normal poster paint with a little bit of plain flour.
Show your children how they can make dots and blobs by printing with the tips of their fingers, or longer shapes if they use different parts of their hands.
Get a bowl of soapy water ready before the kids sit down to paint. Then they can easily get down from the table and clean themselves up as soon as they are finished.
One of our favourite things to do with finger painted pictures is to add details with an ink pen after the paint has dried.

Marble painting

This is another messy painting for kids idea, so make sure you get that bowl of soapy water ready before you start!

You will need: a shallow cardboard box or a baking tray big enough to lay your paper inside (make sure that the tray you choose has decent 'edges' so that your marble doesn't roll out onto the floor), coloured paints and a few marbles.
Lay a sheet of paper in the bottom of your chosen tray or box. Squeeze some different coloured paints into individual pots and drop a marble into each one.
Making sure that your marbles are nicely covered with paint, scoop them out of the paint pots and drop them onto your sheet of paper.
Roll the marbles around the paper by tilting the box or tray. The marbles should criss-cross over the paper leaving a trail of paint behind them as they roll.
Pop your marbles back into the paint pot once they run out of paint and then start over again. You can use one marble at a time or pop them all onto you paper at once.
Why not try sprinkling some glitter onto the trails of paint once you have finished rolling your marbles? Kids painting is a famously messy activity so why not go all out and chuck some glitter around too!

Mirror image printing

This method is sometimes called butterfly printing and it is a wonderfully tactile and satisfying painting for kids technique.

Starting with a large piece of paper, fold it in half and then open it up again so that it lies flat on the table in front of you.
Paint your design or pattern onto one side of the paper, making sure to use plenty of paint. Press the plain side of your paper over onto the painted side and smooth it down. Then carefully open up your paper to reveal your unique mirror image art work!
This technique is ideal for creating butterflies as you can easily produce colourful identical wings. Add a body and antenna with a pen once the paint is dry and your butterflies will really come to life.
Dont just stop at butterflies though, see if your children can spot any other animals or objects in their printed pictures. You'll be amazed at what kids can think up when they are given a little freedom to imagine.