Window Painting : On the next rainy day, have your students paint the window using fingerprint or tempera paint. Have them paint a sun, rainbow, and handprint butterflies.
This will brighten up the room on a dreary day!
Powdered Tempera on Glue : Children squeeze glue onto heavy paper, making a design. Then sprinkle powdered tempera on top and let dry. Shake off loose tempera when dry.
Styrofoam Tray Printmaking : Styrofoam tray
Tempera paint
Speedball ink, or if printing on fabric, ink that will set and be colorfast
Rollers
Paper or fabric pen or pencil
The idea is for students to create a design on the tray with pen or pencil by indenting somewhat into the tray. Letters will print reversed so if you/they want letters they need to be drawn in backwards. After the design is complete, students evenly roll ink onto the tray. Then place a piece of paper on the ink, use a rolling pin to help transfer the design onto the paper or fabric. Carefully, evenly lift paper and you have a print! Repeat with other colors or using different kinds of papers. If using fabric, let dry and sew together as a quilt!
Glue Drop : Mix glue with tempera paint or food coloring. Drip on waxed paper with tongue depressors. Let dry; then peel glue drops off of waxed paper. Glue drops on paper and color and paint around them.
String Magic : The first class session, the children can glue an 8" X 12" long piece of string or yarn onto construction paper. Have them take another piece of yarn, dip it into glue and place on construction paper in an interesting, but simple line. Let dry overnight.
Children can then color inside spaces to make a design.
Marble painting : Materials shapes: such as bats, Christmas trees, hearts.etc (children may use templates to trace and cut their own), liquid tempera, spoon, three or four marbles, box or lid.
Procedure: Children cut shapes such as a black bat. Place bat in box. Pour tempera into small dish and add marbles. Children use spoons to put marbles in the box. Tilt box until the bat is streaked with paint.

Crayons with salt water wash : Draw with crayons on dark construction paper. Then paint the entire picture with a mixture of lots of salt and water. When the water dries, the picture will sparkle.
Crayon Rubbing : Put light paper or newsprint on top of what you want to rub (paper clips, leaves, coins, tag board stencils, rickrack, etc.). Keep everything still. Color hard with the side of the crayon.
Crayon Shaving : Make crayon shavings by peeling off the jackets of various colored crayons and inserting them in a pencil sharpener. Then spread glue over a sheet of paper, or moisten the sticky side of a length of paper tape and press the crayon shavings into an interesting design or picture on the paper.
Crayon Reverse : Children cover all of the white paper with a heavy layer of colored chalk. With a black crayon color heavily over the chalk. Put a second piece of white paper on top of the colored paper. Draw a design or picture with pencil, pressing hard.
Separate the drawings and there will be a positive and a reverse.
Melted Crayon Printing : Cover a warming tray with two sheets of regular tin foil. When the tray is warm, the child colors on the foil with the crayon pieces, which will melt on the foil. When finished, put the plain paper on top of the foil and press with the eraser end of a pencil and lift off design.
Chalk, Chalk, Chalk : Draw with dry chalk, dry paper; wet chalk, dry paper; dry chalk, wet paper; or brush liquid starch over paper and draw with chalk.
Baby Oil Drawing : Use any color bond paper, cotton balls/cotton swabs, paintbrush, baby oil in small dish, newspaper on table. Dip the cotton ball into baby oil and draw on the paper with it. Dip the cotton swab or paintbrush in it and draw some more. After it soaks in, have the children lift their pictures up to the light to see their works of art.
Foldovers : Precut any shape you choose from heavy-duty paper. Give one to each child, along with small plastic containers of tempera and a spoon. Fold the paper in half.
Drop small dots of paint onto one side. Fold the paper; the blotted halves will form a surprise picture
Chalk and Sand Paper : Draw a picture on fine sand paper with colored chalk. Spray finished picture with hair spray to seal.
Wet Paper and Markers : Paint an entire sheet of paper with water. While paper is still wet, draw with markers and watch the colors run. On the other hand, draw with marker, then squirt with water. (Use watercolor markers, not permanent!)

Finger Paint Prints : Have the children finger print directly on a waterproof surface such as a tabletop or inside a lunch tray. After they have created pictures or designs, let them press paper on top of their paintings to make prints. For texture, you can sprinkle some salt or sawdust onto the fingerprint. Tools may also be used with their finger paintings, such as combs, Popsicle sticks, forks, etc.
Make Scratch Art Color a sheet of paper with bright crayons. Make stripes, blotches or any pattern you like. Press hard to make a thick layer of crayon all over the paper. Paint a coat of black tempera (poster) paint all over the top of the colorful crayon layer (add a drop of dish soap to the black paint so it will stick to the crayon wax). After the paint is dry, scratch a design into the black surface with a bent paperclip. The bright crayon colors will show beautifully through the black.
Materials: Paper, crayons, black tempera paint, a drop of dish soap, paintbrush, paperclip.
Watercolor Drawing Using plain white paper, give the children paintbrushes to paint with water covering the entire piece of paper. While the paper is still wet, let them use markers to draw a picture. The colors will blur and look fuzzy for an interesting picture.
Dribble Art Use flour, salt and water in equal amounts. Use liquid paint for color. Put the mixture into squeeze bottles. Let the children dribble pictures or designs on heavy paper. Let dry completely.
Tin Foil Painting Let children paint on foil using several colors of paint. When they are done, lay a piece of paper over their creation, pressing firm but not hard to make neat looking prints.
Sparkling Finger-Paint For this easy project, you’ll need: One cup flour, one cup water and 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Mix the ingredients together to create a textured finger-paint that sparkles when it dries.
Fork Painting Use plastic forks dipped in various colors of paint to create lines across large sheets of paper. Other painting tools can also create interesting effects. Try cotton swabs, old toothbrushes, sponges or yarn.
Block Painting Wrap yarn in interesting patterns around small blocks of wood. Have the children dip the blocks into paint and press on paper. Help them to vary the angle the block is placed at, and use several colors per picture.
Straw Picture Place a drop or two of paint on a large sheet of white paper. Let the children use straws to blow the paint around the paper. Use several different colors.
*Because some children will “blow with all their might”, you might want to plan this as an outdoor activity. Paint smocks are also a good idea.

Salty Art Use powdered tempera paint mixed with salt in salt shakers to create pictures.
Have the children spread or dribble glue on a piece of paper. Shake the paint/salt mixture over the glue. Wait until the glue dries and then shake off the excess paint for an interesting effect.
Splatter Painting This activity can be quite messy and is best done outside. Use large sheets of paper. Dip the bristles of a toothbrush into paint. Hold the bristles downward, and flick them with a craft stick. This creates a dazzling splatter painting if several colors are used.
*As an alternative, cover the papers with stencils of the child’s name prior to painting.
Remove stencils when dry.
Rock Painting Smooth flat stones are easier to paint, but any rocks will do. Make sure the rocks are clean and dry. Use a wide variety of paint colors and encourage the children to be creative. Squiggles and wide lines look nice. Let the rocks dry completely and use them to decorate a walkway or garden.
*Washable paint cannot be used or the rain will wash it away.
Finger-Paint Recipe Mix three tablespoons sugar and ½ cup cornstarch in a saucepan over low heat. Add two cups cold water and stir until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat, and divide into 4-6 separate paper cups. Add a few drips of different colored food coloring into each cup along with a drop or two of dish soap. Stir each cup and let them cool.
Blotterflies
This can be done with many colors, but if you use only two you can show how two colors can make a third color e.g. red and yellow make orange
Color mixing and pattern making

1
Put blobs of colors on one side of a piece of paper that has been folded in half.
2
Fold the paper and push the paint around with your finger
3
Peel the paper apart and leave to dry
4
When dry, fold the paper back again and draw half a shape of a bug, butterfly etc and cut

Coffee Filter
The water will make the colors spread and blend together. Use these for the tail of a peacock or the scales of a large fish
Pattern and color mixing
1
Draw shapes and marks with water based pens on a coffee filter
2
Wet the filter with a spray or sponge. Leave to dry

Cracked Wax
The water color goes into the cracks in the wax crayon drawing and makes the picture look very old
Using different materials together
1
Draw a picture using wax crayons, making sure you cover all the paper.
2
When finished, crumple the drawing up into a ball. Open it up and then crumple it again. Be careful not to tear the paper.
3
Paint over the crumple paper with dark colored water based paint. You can wipe off the excess paint with a wet sponge or put the drawing under a running tap. When dry, you can iron or press the paper flat between some papers.

Crumple Print
Use the finished prints for different activities
Very simple paint effect
1
Paint a piece of paper completely with watered down paint
2
Crumple another piece of paper and press it into darker paint
3
While the paint is still drying, print the crumpled piece of paper on to the first piece. The paint will spread out and mix

Hand Paint
Put different colors on your hand at the same time. Use different parts of your hand to get different shapes.
Simple and inexpensive
1
Place your hand in a shallow tray of paint
2
Put the painted hand on to paper and press
3
When dry, add features

Wax Resist Rubbing
Keep the cards with the patterns on it as they can be used many times
Pattern making and color. Inexpensive
1
Glue pieces of card or heavy paper onto a piece of card. The shapes can be in a pattern or random. Leave to dry
2
Place a piece of paper over the card and lightly rub over it with different colored wax crayons
3
Using different colors, paint over the picture with water based paints.

Wax Resist 2
You could also make the picture like a stained glass window
Pattern making
1
Draw a line or pattern on paper. Follow the first line with a second
2
Color all areas in the drawing with wax crayon but leave the lines and the space between them blank. Paint the whole picture with black paint or ink
3
When dry, use a sharp pencil, nail or stick to scratch out patterns from the areas with wax crayon underneath. Make different patterns for each section

Bubble Printing
This activity is fun but messy. Cover the surfaces if possible
Using basic materials. Experimenting with color and pattern
1
Mix together washing up liquid and ink, paint or food coloring
2
Place a straw in the container and blow (please don’t suck)
3
When the bubbles rise above the container place a piece of paper on top. Use different colors to build the patterns

Finger Prints
Cut the fingerprints out, name them and glue them on a landscape. Talk about the uniqueness of fingerprints and how this is there is no other picture like this in the world
Quick and stimulates imagination
1
Press your finger or thumb into a stamp pad or a sponge with a little ink in it
2
Press the inky finger on a piece of paper - build up shapes
3
Add to the picture with a pen or marker