Midweek Creations - Toddler Monoprints

Arts and crafts for toddlers is more about exploring a medium and the process of that work rather than the end result. I myself am drawn to the medium of paint when working with toddlers because it has an intriguing texture and can be used with their fingers, stamps, and paintbrushes. It is messy, but paint messes can begin teaching toddlers about care and control with materials while offering them a chance for practical life skills in the clean up process of their art area and themselves. Monoprints is a less common art activity for toddlers that involves lots of color blending and a mini - surprise when the image in the pan transfers to their paper. It is also a nice mess break for the parent who still wants to work with paint because there are no paint cups to dump or spill and how much or how little paint that is used can be easily controlled. Enjoy!

What you'll need:
9x13 aluminum foil pan or large cookie sheet
popsicle sticks, plastic spoons, or paintbrushes (something to stir with)
3 or more colors of washable paint
paper
paint shirts and area prepared for painting (just in case)

Squirt several dots of paint in the pan, making sure there are different colors next to each other and that there will be enough to cover the bottom of the pan. I recommend using the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) to begin with as this activity is a great opportunity to talk about color mixing and introduce secondary colors (orange, purple, and green). Invite your child to help begin blending the edges of the colors together with their stirring utensil (let them use their finger if they want). You can do zig zags, spirals, have them try basic geometric shapes until the paint has spread across the bottom of the pan and some of the colors are blended. Next, get a piece of paper and help your child place the paper in the paint, pressing slightly. Lift the paper up and let the child see the print. If he wants to touch his art, go ahead and let him, but there should be enough paint to make a whole gallery of prints if he wants to try another one. Encourage them to redesign the paint in the pan and once the paintings are dry talk about why each print is different.