Stick Painting

Dip ends of short pieces of dowels, blocks, or triangular shaped pieces of wood into paint, which has been mixed in a bowl, and press on paper.

Paint Blobs

Use a spoon and place a very small blob of poster paint, which has been mixed in a bowl, in the center of a piece of paper toweling. (Any paper will do, but this is very handy.) Fold the paper in half and smooth with fingers. Then fold the paper again and smooth. Open the paper to see the results! After the child gets the idea he will experiment with two or three blobs of paint, perhaps different colors, and the results are very colorful. This is fun and easy; the comments made by the children when they see the results are very interesting.

Potato Stamping

Cut a small potato in half and with a paring knife carve a design in the surface of one of the halves. Cut away the area of the potato you don't want to print The child can dip the potato in a shallow dish of colored paint, and apply (like a rubber stamp) to any type of paper or fabric. Use the paper for tapestry or gift wrapping; children can stamp these designs on small cards that can be used as Christmas cards.

Spatter Painting

Help the child begin this process. He dips a toothbrush into a bowl of colored paint, and holds the toothbrush in his left hand. Tell him to pull the bristles toward him with the spoon or popsicle stick which he holds in his right hand, so the paint will spatter upon the paper. Use a different toothbrush for each color of paint More than one color makes more interesting spatters.

To make a silhouette, lightly paste a leaf, or figure cut from a magazine, on the paper and then spatter.

Try spatter painting an old sheet. If it is to be used later in the doll's bed or for a kerchief, a Rit dye would make it permanent.

Instead of a toothbrush, a sprinkler bottle or spray gun may be used.

Another Method: Dip the toothbrush into the bowl of paint and rub across a small piece of door screen. Hold the screen about four or five inches from the paper.

Painting On Material

Old sheets or dishtowels are good for this. Use thumbtacks to hold the material in place and paint with brush, sponges, or potato stamps (see above). If the child is painting on a table, use several thicknesses of newspaper under the material.

Painting Balloons

Blow up a balloon, tie it with a string, and let the child paint it If mother takes brush in hand, it could bear a message and become an invitation (see Children's Birthdays and Parties in chapter VERY SPECIAL EVENTS). Note: the paint peels off if the balloon is deflated.

Painting Over Crayon

After the child has colored a picture with crayons, have him paint over the entire picture with poster paint. As the paint does not cover the wax crayon markings, interesting effects may be achieved.

Painting On A Blotter

This is fun because of the fascination of watching how rapidly the blotter absorbs the paint.

Painting With Water

Small children enjoy painting porch furniture, the house, or fences with a bucket of water and a three-inch paint brush. And it is particularly satisfying to paint thirsty, dry wood on a hot day.

Finger Painting

You probably haven't had finger paint for your children since you tried the old-fashioned recipe and spent the afternoon cooking up cornstarch, alum, glycerin, and water, and had to have canned salmon for dinner. But if you are ready to try again, the simple recipe is:

Put one cup of water into a bowl first. Add wheat-paste flour slowly and stir constantly until it is the consistency of whipped cream. Now you are ready to add coloring. Either add poster paint to the whole batch, or color each glob separately as you spoon it out on the butcher paper which has been dampened with a sponge.

Any glazed paper, such as shelf paper, will do.

Your butcher will sell you butcher paper for 15c a pound, and this is the best kind for finger painting. If you ask ahead, he will save you an inch or two on the roller, making it easier to handle. Stationery stores also sell butcher paper.

The hardware store sells wheat-paste flour (wallpaper paste). A five-pound supply will carry you through many finger paintings, and it will cost you about one dollar.

It is a good idea to roll the sleeves up on the smock as children paint with their fingers, hands, arms and elbows. Spreading the paper the full length and width of the table, instead of cutting it into squares, gives the child more freedom, and makes the cleanup job easier for you.

Have a pan or bucket of sudsy water ready for hand washing when the child is through with his finger painting.

Blocks And Carpentry

Wood has a particular fascination for children because of its many possibilities. Most children like to paint their boats, others like to sand them, others are not satisfied until there is no more space in which to pound another nail, and still others like to scrub their wood with soapy water and a vegetable brush. In their workshops children like to have a low table with a vise, hammer, saw, soft wood and lots of nails. It could eventually include a screwdriver, pair of pliers, ruler, pencil, sandpaper, and a brace and bit.

A good way to store tools: Paint the shape of each tool on a piece of plywood and hold with nails. Hang the plywood behind the workbench.

Or

Hang the tools from nails across the front of the work bench. This is better for small children as the tools are all within easy reach.

Children often need help in starting the nail into the wood. The same is true with the saw. (Toy saws will not cut wood properly. A real saw, such as a kitchen saw or a keyhole saw, is suggested.)

Children can make boats or airplanes or signs without much help. Or they can make sandpaper blocks for sanding, or for scraping together (see the section You Can Make Your Own Music).

Roofing nails have a large head and are easy to hit But you can't go wrong with four penny box nails.

Beginners can hammer tacks in a cake of soap.

Beginners can saw cardboard boxes.

Wood and blocks: Lumber for children's workshops is available at lumber companies where there are always odds and ends under the power saw; or ask the supervisor of any construction job if you can scavenger their scrap pile. Specially good pieces of wood should be sanded and painted and used for blocks. Another way to make blocks is by cutting a 2 x 4 into different lengths.

Hollow blocks: These blocks are recommended for small children because of their light weight, long life, and the variety of uses they offer. They are made by nailing and gluing together two ends, a half an inch thick and four sides of one-fourth inch plywood.

Cut an opening in two opposite sides for fingers.