PLAY IDEA: Finger Painting

Messy play gives children the opportunity to experience a wide range of sensory experiences.  It helps with hand-eye co-ordination, exploring new textures, learning about colour mixing, patterns, and designs. 

Finger painting is a great messy play activity. It encourages children to explore through the senses of touch and sight. The good thing about finger painting is that you don't need a lot of additional equipment - children are encouraged to use their hands, fingers, feet and bodies to experiment. 

This finger paint recipe is from "Recipes for Messy Play". There are two recipes for you to try at home - cooked and uncooked. You can use tempera paint powder or a non-toxic paint to add colour.

For the purpose of this post, I have used food colouring, mixing it in with a stirrer, before giving it to my toddler. 

COOKED FINGER PAINT
Ingredients
2 cups Cornflour
5 cup Cold water

Method

1. Mix the cornflour to a smooth paste with a little cold water in a large pot. 
2. Add 5 cups of cold water and stir over a low heat for about ten minutes until the mixture has thickened to a consistency that will pour slowly and keeps it's shape briefly when moulded or patterned with fingers. 

Colour can be added while the finger paint is being cooked or mixed into the finger paint by children during play.

UNCOOKED FINGER PAINT
Ingredients
2 cups Cornflour
1 cup Cold water
4-5 cups Boiling water
1/4 cup Soap Flakes (optional)

Method

1. Whisk the cornflour and cold water together in a large bowl until all the cornflour is suspended. 
2. Pour in 4-5 cups of boiling water while stirring and beat until the mixture 'grabs'. 
3. Stir thoroughly until the mixture is smooth, thick and translucent. 

Optional: Add the soap flakes if desired and keep stirring. If the mixture seems too thick, carefully add a little more water. The finished finger paint should pour slowly and keep its shape briefly when moulded or patterned with fingers. If the mixture doesn't 'grab', then simply add more cornflour and microwave it for a couple of minutes. 

NOTE: Let the mixture cool before putting it out for children as it's very hot when first made. Soap flakes may irritate if they get it into their eyes, so remember to have some fresh warm water and towels on hand.

Find a suitable area, preferably outdoors, as this activity can get quite messy. Use a table, or a flat surface to 'play' on and remember to have a bucket of warm water and a towel nearby to clean up messy hands when done. Most of all, have fun getting messy with your child!

***SOME IDEAS***

• Try experimenting with different smells and textures.
• Give your child some tools, e.g a comb, paint brushes, toy cars to use for making marks in the finger paint. 
• Add a bit of sand or shaving cream to give the paint a different texture.
• For a mess-free alternative, check out Mess Free Finger Painting by Happy Mum, Happy Children.
• For more paint recipes for your toddler - head over to Girl on a Mission's Easy Kids Paint Recipes for more ideas.

Have fun!

Charlene

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