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Today I tried a different way to play with paint, I wanted to create a surface squishy enough the little ones can touch and play without getting too messy.

Because I didn’t want the paint to run off the table so I covered the entire table with plastic food wrap (I buy at Costco and the rolls are big)

I simply squirted different colors of paint all over the table. I suggest being generous with amount of paint, this way it will be easier to spread them around and mix them. Now I covered the paint that’s on the first layer of plastic wrap with more plastic wrap. Try to leave extra amount of plastic in order to tuck it under the table if not the paint will squeeze out of the table, also try to overlap the plastic so there aren’t open pockets and when the activity starts remind the children that we are feeling the paint with our hands, arms or even face but there is no scratching or trying to poke hole (there is always that one little angel that will try to break it).

The new texture was definitely a success, for most children it took a bit before they realized they weren’t getting dirty.  They were very cautious at first but once the colors started to mix we all realized we could use out fingertips to make drawings.

Of course this activity quickly evolved into a different one. The children were very curious about the paint and they were anxious to touch it so we grabbed out painting shirts and took the plastic off. They enjoyed touching and mixing the paint with their hands and before the entire kitchen suffered the consequences Carolina and I put up paper on the wall in order for them to print their hand all over.

This activity lasted about 35 to 40 minutes between talking about the texture of the paint over the plastic, feeling, temperature, etc. and they talking some more while uncovering the paint. When they got to the part where their hands were messy and wet we just observed their great hand prints while constantly reminding them not to touch their friends, lol.