Paint that puffs up!

As my exploration for interesting and useful activities continues, I came across this excellent post.

http://magicalchildhood.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/easy-puffy-paint/

All we need is self-raising flour, salt, some food colouring and water - and yes, a microwave. (And lest we forget that some parts of the world are not blessed with 24x7 power supply, we need that too.)

Mix equal proportions of the flour and salt, then add just enough water to make a paste. You can divide this lot into little containers/muffin tins/ice cube containers and then add different colours of food colouring to make the different colours.

Let your child paint with these onto thick paper or cardboard. Once the artwork is done, zap it in the microwave for 10 seconds or more, depending on the wetness/thickness of the paste. You have some lovely puffy paint work!!

Make Your Own Watercolours

Children love to paint and more the mess, the more the fun! Lots of brands of paints are out in the market, but wouldn't it be fun to get them to actually make their own paints? Children love the creativity involved in this and here's a simple enough recipe!

http://www.magicalchildhood.com/crafts/watercolors.htm

Art Materials For Toddlers

Colourful activities - are crayons the only possibilities?? Nowadays when so much of the art supplies available are washable, it's worth exploring other ideas. The Artful Parent came up with a list of 11 art materials that toddlers enjoy, perhaps more than crayons. On a side note, would I want to share my Crayola PipSqueaks with my toddler??

http://artfulparent.typepad.com/artfulparent/2011/07/forget-crayons-11-great-art-materials-for-toddlers.html