Window Painting. Paint the window using fingerpaint or tempera paint. Sun, rainbows, and handprint butterflies will brighten up the room on a rainy day.
Glue Drop. Mix glue with tempera paint or food coloring. Drip on waxed paper with tongue depressors. Let the glue drops dry; then peel them off. Glue the colored drops on paper and color and paint around them.
Crayons with Salt Water Wash. Draw with crayons on dark construction paper. Then paint the entire picture with a mixture of lots of salt and water. When the water dries, the picture will sparkle.
Crayon Rubbing. Put light paper or newsprint on top of what you want to rub (paper clips, leaves, coins, tagboard stencils, rick-rack, etc.). Hold everything steady; then color hard with the side of the crayon.
Crayon Shaving. Make crayon shavings by peeling off the jackets of various colored crayons and inserting the crayons in a pencil sharpener. Then spread glue over a sheet of paper and press the crayon shavings into an interesting design or picture.
Crayon Reverse. Cover one side of a sheet of white paper with a heavy layer of colored chalk. Using a black crayon, color heavily over the chalk. Put a second piece of white paper on top of the colored paper. Draw a design or picture with pencil, pressing hard. Separate the drawings to find positive and reverse images.
Empty Space Paper. Cut holes of any size and shape in pieces of paper; then let the children draw on the paper as they like. They will probably let you know something is missing.
Newspaper Painting. Using sheets of newspaper instead of ordinary paper, paint a wash of background colors over the paper lightly enough that the printing still shows through. Then paint designs or pictures over the wash.
Leaf Print. Squeeze white glue around edges of the top side of a leaf and stick it to a piece of cardboard. Cover the leaf with paint or press it into a stamp pad. Make a leaf print by pressing the inked side of the leaf onto the paper. Repeat to create a design or pattern.
Melted Crayon Printing. Cover a warming tray with two sheets of regular tinfoil. When the tray is warm, color on the foil with crayon pieces, which will melt on the foil. When the drawings are finished, put a piece of plain paper on top of the foil and press it with the eraser end of a pencil to lift off the design.
Shrink Art. Cut a piece of heavy plastic into a desired shape; then draw on it with permanent markers. Punch a hole in one end of the shape. Lay the plastic on a foil-covered cookie sheet and heat it in moderate oven until it shrinks. Remove from oven and let cool. String with yarn for a necklace.
Chalk, Chalk, Chalk. Try different methods of drawing with chalk: dry chalk, dry paper; wet chalk, dry paper; dry chalk, wet paper; dry chalk on paper brushed over with liquid starch.
Baby Oil Drawing. Cover your working surface with old newspaper and pour some baby oil in small dish. Dip a cotton ball into the baby oil and use it to draw on a piece of bond paper. Dip a cotton swab or paintbrush in the baby oil and draw some more. After the oil soaks in, lift the pictures up to the light to see the finished works of art.
Bag Finger Painting. Prepare a large Ziploc bag with a small amount of liquid starch and a small amount of tempera sealed inside. Using fingertips (no nails), make a design on the bag. Children will also enjoy seeing the color emerge.
Foldovers. Precut shapes from heavy-duty paper. Fold each paper in half; then open it back up. Using a spoon and small plastic containers of tempera, drop small dots of paint onto one side. Fold the paper back up; the blotted halves will form a surprise picture.
Chalk and Sand Paper. Draw a picture on fine sandpaper with colored chalk. Seal the finished picture by spraying it with hair spray.
Wet Paper and Markers. Paint an entire sheet of paper with water. While the paper is still wet, draw with markers and watch the colors run. Or draw with markers, and then squirt the paper with water. (Use watercolor markers, not permanent.)
String and Glue Sculpture. Dip heavy string in glue and form a shape with the string on waxed paper. When the glue is dry, remove the string sculpture from the waxed paper. Make a colorful sculpture by adding food coloring to the glue.
Natural Dyes. Collect items from nature, such as grasses, leaves, and berries. Cut a 7” x 14” piece of muslin. Place the items on one half of the fabric; then fold the other half over. Pound the items through the muslin with a small hammer or mallet. Continue until all items have been pounded flat. Open the fabric and shake away the items to find a beautiful natural dyed collage.
Ice Painting. The night before presenting the activity, freeze a tray of ice cubes with a Popsicle stick in each cube (the sticks do not have to be entirely vertical). Fill shaker containers with dry tempera paint. Cover the work area with newspaper. Rub the ice cubes across shiny freezer wrap or finger painting paper. Then sprinkle on some dry tempera paint. Children love to watch as the ice melts into the color.
Shoe Polish. Draw on paper with shoe polish applicators as if they were giant magic markers. Dots can be made by picking up the applicators and then pressing them down on the paper. Use one color first; later, use two or more colors to mix and make new colors. To create pastel colors, carefully pry the sponge applicator tops off bottles of white shoe polish and add a few drops of food coloring. When the shoe polish is gone, wash out the container and refill with a watery tempera paint.
Finger Paint Prints. Finger print directly on a waterproof surface such as a tabletop or a lunch tray. When the pictures or designs are finished, press paper on top of them to make prints. For texture, you can sprinkle some salt or sawdust onto the finger print. Tools may also be used with the finger paintings, such as combs, Popsicle sticks, forks, etc.
Color Murals. Choose a color with which you want to work, such as red. Tear out magazine pictures of red items; then brush red paint on butcher paper and press the magazine pictures on the wet paint to create a group “red mural.” Repeat the activity on other days with other colors.
Translucent Paper. Dip cotton balls into salad oil and brush them over waxed paper. Then tear tissue paper into little pieces and press them all over the waxed paper until it is completely covered. The oil helps the tissue paper stick to the waxed paper and makes the tissue paper translucent. For variation, cut holiday shapes and use the related color of tissue paper, or use a rectangular sheet of waxed paper with assorted colors of tissue paper, and add a black frame to create a stained glass window.
Floating Art. Cut construction paper into desired seasonal or holiday shapes. Fill a plastic dishpan with water. Grate various colors of chalk into powder and let each child choose two or three colors of chalk to sprinkle on top of the water. Then float a sheet of paper on top of the water to absorb the chalk design. Hang the shapes on a line or lay flat to dry. For variation, use India ink on top of the water instead of chalk. Swirl to make a design; then lay the paper on the water’s surface to absorb the design.
Colored Sand Painting. Pour sand on paper plates or pie pans. Put one color of chalk on each plate/pie pan. Mix food coloring into white glue to make it colored and pour into squeeze bottles. Rub the sand with chalk to color it (dry tempera can also be used). After each pan of sand has been colored, use a funnel and pour the sand into a small container or salt shaker. Put the colored glue, sand, and paper on the table. Drizzle a glue design on the paper and then sprinkle, shake, or trickle the sand over it. Let dry and shake off the excess sand into a large container.
Eyedropper Painting. Mix food coloring and water, or water down tempera paint until it is very thin. Pour into small containers. Put at least one eyedropper in each container. Punch holes into a long strip of paper. Fasten the strip to a piece of construction paper. Using eyedroppers, drop colors of paint into the holes. Let dry. Carefully lift the strip up and refasten it to another space on the construction paper.
Glue Ornament. Squirt glue into a design on waxed paper, using one continuous stream of glue. Sprinkle with glitter. Allow up to five days to dry. Peel the dried glue from the waxed paper and hang.