I first saw this idea at The Hippie Housewife and knew it would be a great fit for our house.
This activity is super simple to set-up and will allow your baby, toddler, or preschool to paint without making a mess!
Mess Free Painting with Toddlers & Preschoolers
You will need large gallon size Ziploc bags and tempera paint. We choose to use primary colors to explore color mixing.
Just quirt 3 “piles” of paint in your ziplock bag, make sure all the air is out, and carefully seal your ziplock bag.
Now, using painters tape, tape the bag to the table. This allows your child to finger paint without it moving around.
I got two ready. Time to call the kids because we are all ready to play!
Playing with Paint in a Bag
My toddler right away wanted to squish the paint. she loved the squishy feeling and was so surprised it wasn’t all over her hand!
My Kindergartner started swirling the colors together. She was so excited when she started to see new colors emerge!
Practicing Your Letters with Messless Painting
I’m not sure if you can tell by the picture or not, but she made a letter A. The bags made a great surface to practice making letters.
She loved the alphabet tactile practice making her letters on the squishy paint bag.
Painting in a Bag TIPS
- Put a piece of white paper underneath to make your letters or drawing appear more clearly.
- Try to get as much of the air out of the bag as possible.
- Trim nails before doing this activity. If kids start painting with their nails you will get a tear in the bag and end up with messy painting.
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