Bathtub painting
Bathtub painting can be quite messy but it is worth it as it is SO much fun. Create your own paint which is easy to make and inexpensive. This activity is a great way to introduce baby’s to painting as the paint is safe to eat and keeps the mess controllable.
Age
From 9 months
What you need
For each colour of paint you want to make
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 drop of food colouring
A cup or bowl
Additional (optional)
(Paint) brush or sponges
Bucket
Preparation
Prepare the paint by adding water to the flour and mixing it together. Don’t put all the water in at the same time, but slowly add water until you are happy with the texture; not too thick but also not too runny. Put the food colouring in at the end and mix it. Repeat this process for each colour of paint you want to make.
Depending on if you will fill the bathtub with water or not, you can put your kids in their swimming costume, just leave their nappy on or undress them completely. Up to you!
Play
Give your child the paint and off they go! They can paint with their fingers, toes or you can give them a brush or sponge to paint with. And a bucket with water to the play so they can wipe out the paint and start over to create something new if wanted.
The play can be open ended, that will give your child the opportunity to tap into their creativity. Off course you can give them a jump start by showing what they can do and help where needed.
Add-ons for more fun play
Clean up
It is best to wash the paint off your walls and bathtub with warm water. And your child probably needs a nice bath after the play.
Educational
Open ended activities are great for early childhood. These activities give children the opportunity to learn/practise more skills than when an activity is set out for them. It also promotes diversity between kids. What you think might be pretty might not be your child's opinion. And in a group of kids or between siblings there will not be any competition in open ended activities. Playing in the sand pit, with play dough or lego blocks are other examples of open ended play. You provide them with the materials and they do the rest. As the activity will be different each time they play, it never gets boring.
Age
From 9 months
What you need
For each colour of paint you want to make
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 drop of food colouring
A cup or bowl
Additional (optional)
(Paint) brush or sponges
Bucket
Preparation
Prepare the paint by adding water to the flour and mixing it together. Don’t put all the water in at the same time, but slowly add water until you are happy with the texture; not too thick but also not too runny. Put the food colouring in at the end and mix it. Repeat this process for each colour of paint you want to make.
Depending on if you will fill the bathtub with water or not, you can put your kids in their swimming costume, just leave their nappy on or undress them completely. Up to you!
Play
Give your child the paint and off they go! They can paint with their fingers, toes or you can give them a brush or sponge to paint with. And a bucket with water to the play so they can wipe out the paint and start over to create something new if wanted.
The play can be open ended, that will give your child the opportunity to tap into their creativity. Off course you can give them a jump start by showing what they can do and help where needed.
Add-ons for more fun play
- Jump in the bath with your kids.
- Fit the play within a theme. Give them a specific colour and picture to paint and/or add some scent to the paint.
- If you don’t want to make your own paint, there are bathtub crayons/paint you can buy in the store.
- You can also make bathtub paint with shaving cream. That will be very fluffy and smells nice, but is not safe to put in your mouth.
Clean up
It is best to wash the paint off your walls and bathtub with warm water. And your child probably needs a nice bath after the play.
Educational
Open ended activities are great for early childhood. These activities give children the opportunity to learn/practise more skills than when an activity is set out for them. It also promotes diversity between kids. What you think might be pretty might not be your child's opinion. And in a group of kids or between siblings there will not be any competition in open ended activities. Playing in the sand pit, with play dough or lego blocks are other examples of open ended play. You provide them with the materials and they do the rest. As the activity will be different each time they play, it never gets boring.