This is a fun way to add interest and a new way of painting for toddlers. It is good for their motor skills as they try and use the long brushes and it also lets them paint really big and with lots of expression so it’s nice to see what they come up with. This is easiest done outside so you don’t need to worry about mess so it’s good in this nice weather. You obviously need to be able to stand and hold the brushes for this one so it doesn’t work so well for teeny ones. If you want to do something similar with babies you could try holding them over big paper on the floor and letting them use their feet or letting them crawl on top of the paper and through the paint and use their whole bodies like we did here
You need:
- water based paint in trays
- Paint brushes
- Long sticks – we used bamboo canes, the handle of a broom and a mop pole but anything long will do. If the ends seem sharp you could make them safer by putting a ball of blue tack or some tape over them
- Tape or string to tie on the brushes
- A big painting surface like a roll of paper, an unfolded cardboard box or some fabric like a sheet or old curtains
Help your children to attach brushes to the end of the long sticks by wrapping them on with tape or tying with string. Then lay out something big to paint on to and let them experiment with standing up and trying to dip the brushes into paint trays on the floor and then making marks on the paper. You could do a demo if they are not sure what to do but most will pick it up quickly and enjoy being given this freedom to experiment and go big. This one even looked fun enough for big brother to join in!
