Preschool Easel Painting Activities

The benefits of working on an easel:

Fine motor: Moving the painting tool from the paint container to the easel surface requires focus and control. Large motor: Because of the angle of the arm, using the easel works the shoulder and entire arm. The bigger the surface, the more exercise this area of the body gets. Cognitive skills: There is a lot to figure out while using an easel, such as how the paint will get on the paper, how the different colors will mix, and how to handle the drips that occur. Social Skills: Toddlers and preschoolers can work side-by-side or, if you have a 2-sided easel, across from each other. Creativity: There is no specific outcome expected when creating at the easel. The artist can choose how much or how little to apply to the surface, creating any desired design.

Introducing the easel:

Tools to paint with:

We start with paint brushes as our toddlers and preschoolers become familiar with the easel. However, once they feel comfortable, we substitute the paint brush with other fun tools or objects.

Brayers Corks Rolling pins Cotton Swabs Sewing spools

Waffle Blocks Kitchen utensils Toy cars

Paint rollers Feathers Combs Toothbrushes

Pipettes Cotton balls on clothespins Sticks Balloons

Stampers Do-a-Dots Cookie Cutters

Surfaces to paint on:

Yes, paper is probably the most popular surface to paint on the easel. We even like to cut the paper into different shapes to, perhaps, go along with a theme. But there are so many other materials you can place on the easel!

Bubble wrap Tin foil Freezer paper Burlap Cardboard Coffee filters

What to paint to use?

Again, there are a lot of options on what to use at the easel. You can try most recipes that you would use on a flat surface and see what happens when they are done vertically.

Tempera paint Finger paint Chalk paint Watercolors Shaving cream Puffy paint

More than paint:

Try chalk, markers, crayons, pens and pencils, too!

Easel Activities

Rolling Paint at the Easel Waterfall Painting Rainbow Sponge Painting Googly-Eye Easel Starters (Teach Preschool) Painting With Water (Messy Little Monster) Monoprints (To the Lesson!) Bubble Painting (Teach Preschool) Sticky Faces (No Time for Flashcards) Painting on Foil (Picklebums) Spring Garden Sticky Easel (Learning 4 Kids) Drippy Painting (Tinkerlab)