Another weekend is approaching..what can we do to occupy our child when they are home with us? I suggest that we can do a simple yet fun activity to nurture our child’s creativity - Finger Painting!
Benefits
- Promote creativity. The child is given the opportunity to freely paint using his own imagination
- Allow the child to express himself in his painting
- Reinforce finger movement (fine motor controls)
- Introducing finger painting
- Instill good feelings when the child enjoys the process of making finger printing
- Help the child to release his negative feelings if he has any such as frustration, anger etc.
Materials
- Painting paper
- Poster paints
- Paint palette or containers to fill with colors
- Apron
- Plastic table mat or newspaper
- Most important - Finger! (smile!)
Get Started
- Prepare all the materials.
- Protect the table by putting a plastic table mat on top, or tape some newspaper on the table.
- Spread some colors on the palette. I normally will put 2-3 colors and ask the child to name them as a way to reinforce their memory and vocabulary. For children above 3.5 years old, they can choose their own colors.
- Tell your child that you are going to show him how to do finger printing.
- Dip your finger on the color, then press the finger on the paper.
Fun
- Some children might not want to dirty their fingers as they are not use to the activity. In this case, we can use different types of paint brushes to let our child discover the fun of painting. One of my girls just refused to do it no matter how hard I tried to convince her. She saw her friends enjoyed the activity, yet she still refused to join. Don’t have to push her. She will participate once she is comfortable with the activity.
Most children begin the painting with one finger. Later they are so engrossed with the activity that they will use all their fingers. It’s alright. Let them enjoy the fun! They are discovering and exploring their fingers movement.- We can draw a picture on the painting paper and ask the child to color it. Then asked the child to cut out the picture after the painting is dried (applicable for children above 5 years old who knows how to handle scissors and able to cut the outline accordingly). Tape a chopstick behind the colored picture to make a paper puppet. Your child can use it for his own imaginative play.
- Ask your child what they have painted with their fingers. Talk to him about the process. This is to reinforce their language development too. You will be amazed by their imagination!
You can even tape a big piece of paper on the floor or wall (ensure the floor and wall are protected by plastic or newspaper). Let the child play with the paints. Well, this can be a little messy. Always put a wet cloth at the side for wiping.
Enjoy the activity with our child!
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