Kids' Magic Wand

So far, we haven't spent much time playing with paints - but with so many possibilities, I'd love to introduce young B to more painting fun. With a half hour or so to fill before dinner, a cheap star shaped wand from our local art & craft shop was perfect for decorating for a young friend turning 3.

It took about 2 minutes to set up a couple of different paint colours, brushes and stamps on a newspaper lined table; and around 2 seconds for B to start enjoying the different effects of the brushes/stamps ... but I was surprised and entertained to see that after a quick colour splash on the star wand, he mainly loved painting and stamping his hands! Swishing and swirling along the fingers and around the palm of the hand. (Sometimes then transferring the paint off his hand onto the star!) I love that he reminds and shows me constantly how to make activities more 'sensory'!!

While the paint was still wet, we sprinkled the mandatory magic, sparkly, glitter pieces onto the star  - which is a great fine motor exercise in itself:-) And then it was time for a quick test drive, casting a few magic spells, watching it glisten in the light... 

 

And cleaning up should never be rushed too much - time permitting, it's a whole other activity in itself! Learning independent skills as well as a bit of water and sensory play! We practised pumping a little soap, squelching it between the palms of the hands and washing the paint off each finger.

All that fun in just a half hour or so :-)

What are your kids' favourite painting activities?

Thanks so much for stopping by Kids' Play Space! If you enjoyed this post, you may also like to check out these too:
Puppet Theatre -  Home made with Love
Play Dough - A Week of BLUE - Part 1
Beach Small World

Until soon,
Happy playing!
Anna :-) 
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