Craft and Connect: DIY Puff Paint
Make some special holiday drawings using inexpensive puff paint that you can make yourself. This provides kids with a different method of painting and gets them to use their muscles to squeeze, which is great for their fine motor skills.
This is what you’ll need:
- Art paper (the paper must be thick to support the weight of the puff paint. Card-stock works well)
- Squeeze bottles
- Powdered tempera paint
- Flour
- Salt
- Water
- Measuring cup
- Plastic zipper-style sandwich bags
Step 1 – Prepare the Puff Paint
Mix equal parts flour and salt a sandwich baggie. Add a teaspoon or so of powdered tempera paint. Add the same amount of water as you used flour and salt. Close the bag and squeeze and knead the mixture until it is completely combined. Pour the puff paint into the squeeze bottles by cutting off one corner of the sandwich bag and piping the paint into the bottles (as you would use a piping bag for icing).
Connect: Have your child help with the measuring and mixing. Kids love to scoop and measure. The feeling of the paint inside the bag is a new sensory experience for them as well.
Step 2 – Paint
Encourage your kids to paint on the paper with the puff paint. Squeeze and pour designs.
Connect: Your child will naturally want to see what happens when they hold the squeeze bottle up high compared with holding it down low. Younger children may want you to draw a design that they can follow with their paint bottle.
Step 3 – Puff!
Put each painting in the microwave for about 30 seconds. This will make the design puff up and dry.
Connect: Show your child what the paint looks like before and after microwaving it. (Be careful, it will be hot when it comes out of the microwave!)
Product Recommendations from Discount School Supply®:
Nancy™ Paint Bottles Classic Tips, 2 oz. – Set of 12
White Card Stock – 100 SheetsSet of 10 Colorations® Powder Tempera Paint – 1lb
Set of 10 Colorations® Powder Tempera Paint – 1lb
Activity Hour: Paper Candy Canes
Make a collection of paper candy canes to decorate your house, hang on your tree, or feed to some reindeer.
What You’ll Need:
- White paper
- Markers
- Crayons, colored pencils, bingo bottles with paint (any decorating medium that dries quickly)
- Tape
Step 1 – Decorate the paper
Cover the paper with color. Use markers, crayons, whatever you choose—just make sure to get lots of color on the paper. If you’re using a messier medium like paint, you might require some extra drying time, so you might have to do the next step tomorrow.
*Tips for Parents: Younger children may make a few marks on the paper and be finished. Encourage these kids to use their bodies to make big marks that cover the whole paper. Talk about movements. Can you move the marker quickly? Slowly? How many lines can you make? Older children (age 2 and up) may have fun drawing patterns. Model how to draw a line (we often make up little songs or rhymes—“Start at the top, and fall to the bottom”). Draw another line next to that one. Keep on going. Or draw a curvy line with lots and lots of squiggles. Color inside the random shapes made by the squiggles.
Step 2 – Roll the paper
Flip the paper over on the table so the patterned side is facing down. You’ll use a marker to roll up the paper into about a 1” tube. Place the marker diagonally across one corner and begin rolling. Secure the end with tape.
*Tips for Parents: Little ones may need help with this step. Encourage them to use a flat hand and feel how the paper rolls under their hand. Give them a little help by holding the tube tight while your child uses his or her hand to roll it.
Step 3 – Shake out the marker
Shake the tube until the marker comes out.
*Tips for parents: Don’t neglect this step—this is one of the most enjoyable parts of this project for some kids! Shake, shake, shake until the marker comes out. If the tube is rolled too tightly, you might have trouble getting the marker out. Encourage your child to try different methods until he or she finds a solution.
Step 4 – Make the candy cane curve
Place the marker perpendicular to the candy cane at the very top end. Flatten and roll the paper tube around the marker. Remove the marker and shape the curve to make a candy cane. Make a bouquet of candy canes and place it in a bucket for your holiday dinner centerpiece.
Product Recommendations from Discount School Supply®:
Perfect Art Paper Pack – 600 Sheets
White 9″ x 12″ Colorations® Heavyweight Construction Paper
Colorations® Simply Washable Tempera Paints, 16 oz. – Set of 15
Colorations® Super Washable Classic Markers – Set of 200
Colorations® Chubby Crayons – Set of 200
Colorations® Jumbo Colored Pencils – Set of 120
Bingo Bottle Refillable Markers with Tips & Caps – Set of 12
Mavalus® White Removable Poster Tape – Set of 3
Little Hands, Big Imaginations 