Lay a piece of plastic wrap on top of the paint and then tape it to a tray. If you’re looking for a no mess activity for the art table, this is one of our favorites! Toddlers love pressing down on the plastic wrap, moving the paint around. Even though hands are not directly touching paint, this is still a delightful sensory experience. As the plastic wrap touches the paint, the hands can still feel the movement of the paint even though they aren’t directly touching it. A fun process art activity that can also work on color recognition skills!
Paper Tempera paint (we used four different colors) Plastic Wrap Tray Masking Tape
Place a piece of paper on a tray. Squirt dollops of paint on top of the paper. (These do not have to be very large.) What happens when the colors overlap?
No Mess Painting
Invite your toddler to press on top of the plastic wrap. If they’ve never done this before, show them how to gently push on the wrap to move the paint around. What a surprise when the hand is clean! Such a fun way to work on fine motor skills! When finished, remove the tape and plastic wrap, letting the paint dry.
Art: Rainbow Collage Fine Motor: Rainbow Suncatcher Sensory Table: Color Sorting Water Bin Colorful Window Collage Please know that even though I enjoy providing these “no mess” art activities, I am by no means “anti-mess”. I definitely provide lots of opportunities to get the hands in there, feeling the paint, moving it around. However, I often have some students who are very touch sensitive and do not like the feeling of paint on their hands. While I gently help them through this (providing, for example, a damp cloth that they can wipe their fingers any time during the activity), I also like to provide activities where they can explore without the worry of touching paint. Also, activities such as these still provide a sensory experience because they can feel the slippery plastic as their fingers slide around. If you are opposed to the “no-mess” part of this activity, simply do not use the plastic wrap. Let the fingers touch the paint! And please DO make sure to provide lots of hands-on opportunities for your children where they can feel the different materials that are being used, paint included. Here is my Privacy Policy
