Fingerpaint - More than just Messy

Fingerpainting with a toddler certainly isn't a new or radical idea. Yes, it's messy, which may be a little stressful for some adults. But the benefits to toddlers are numerous and important.

Fingerpainting allows toddlers to

• experiment with textures
• express their own creativity emotional
• experience sensory details, particularly visual and tactile
• learn about colors before and after mixing
• doodle shapes in the paint
• make prints with hands, feet, elbows, ... appropriate body parts

To make the experience more enjoyable - and less messy - for you, try these suggestions:

Paint outside; you don't even need a table. Just spread newspaper on the sidewalk, pour some paint on a paper plate, and you're ready to go!

Use the highchair. It's a great alternative and keeps the kiddo contained.

Cover up or paint in the buff. There's nothing fun about adding to your laundry piles, so throw on a smock (I hear Ikea has them really cheap.) or one of daddy's t-shirts (My husband still has shirts from college; they are expendable as far as I am concerned!). Warm weather painting can be done in just a diaper - I am referring to your toddler here, not you :)

And remember, fingerpaint is washable, so don't get too bent out of shape about the (potential) mess. Have fun!

Oh, apparently you can Make-Your-Own Finger Paint (imagine that!)... with all the cornstarch you have left over from making Moon Sand :)

Finger Paint Recipe
4 cups cold water
1 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon tempera paint or food coloring
Mix water and cornstarch; cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add paint or food coloring, or divide the mixture into three parts and add three different colors.