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Ahhhh summer…
The chance to get outside, let out all the energy, run, play and be messy!
Yes…by far one of my favorite parts about summer. It is so much easier to just bust out the hose to clean up a mess and not have to worry about one of them taking off and touching who knows what with paint, glue, or whatever crafting supplies we are currently using.
I love to do projects with the girls and encourage their creativity but wow, it’s a lot harder doing projects with two of them now and especially with a very curious and now walking one-year-old. So needless to say my go-to for any creative activity now that its summertime has been to take it outside. I also like quick and easy set up so these will all take 30 minutes or less to set up and enjoy. Here are a few of our favorite painting activities that work great when you have kids of various ages and especially those curious little one-year-olds.
Create a mural or banner
Supplies:
Disposable plate
Paint rollers /brushes/ sponges
Tub full of water or paper towels for clean up
Instructions:
I’ll be honest before we started this project I thought I had a roll of craft paper only to discover I was out. So we improvised and I used the backside of some Christmas gift wrap. Yep, glittery Christmas trees make up the other side of this paper.
I used painters tape to tape down the paper and it was a very windy day (we do live near Chicago so most days are) and the painters’ tape held it down just fine. I am sure some rocks or other heavy objects could work as well or even masking or packing tape.
I keep all of our art supplies in the basement so I keep a little basket down there to stash our days’ supplies in to bring outside easily. Washable paint is a must to avoid getting on clothes, furniture, or really anything. We prefer these large Crayola bottles. A little goes a long way and we have had them forever!
I always create a little painters palette for the girls using a plate that I squeeze out different colors of paint onto. This way once the hands start to get messy you no longer have to worry about opening bottles.
Let the painting begin! The girls used a mix of fun shaped sponges and paint rollers that have different patterns on them. And of course, they also did some finger painting too.
For clean up, I had a small tub of water that I just had them drop their sponges and rollers into. I then had some presoaked paper towels to clean their hands before heading inside. A more environmentally friendly way would be to also use some towels designated specifically for crafting that again are also presoaked. I often take old hand towels and recycle to use for activities.
Although I let them just experiment with using the different sponges and creating whatever they wanted you can also structure the play some more to create an ocean or space scene for example. Also, a great way to create a birthday banner or a banner for really any holiday or fun event.
Rock Painting
Supplies:
Disposable plate
Tub of water or presoaked towels for cleanup
Various sizes of rocks
Instructions:
This activity is pretty casual and just allows the little ones to get messy and explore using paint. I gathered a few rocks of different sizes and we had an extra paver stone that they used to paint on also.
I again created the paint palette for them on the paper plate. Although P liked to use the paintbrushes, little p preferred finger painting. I gave her her own clean plate to finger paint on as well.
You can also encourage your little ones to try and paint the rocks into different animals, for example, a frog or turtle. The best part is they can either bring the rocks inside and keep or if you leave them outside the paint will wash off with the next rain shower.
Another variation if you do not have or do not want to use paint is to allow them to just paint using water. I did this often with P when she was a baby. Less mess and it can also help to teach them about evaporation.
Hope you enjoy these fun outdoor painting activities as much as we do!