Nine Nifty Non-Brush Ways For Your Child(ren) to Paint

     Ready to challenge your child's creative mind? Try replacing their paint brushes with these unusual materials. I bet they'll love the randomness and  they may conjure up some ideas of their own. No matter what, their artwork will feel like an adventure.

So lets get started.

1. Nature- Incorporating nature into your child's learning experiences is truly the "Reggio Way". If you are unfamiliar with the Reggio Emilia philosophy I highly suggest you look into it. By giving your child(ren) the opportunity to paint with flowers, pine cones, pine needles, twigs / sticks, leaves, acorns, or any other natural material, they will not only discover beautiful new kinds of markings and strokes but they will also gain a greater appreciation for the beauty in the nature that is around them.

2. Balloons- Balloons are fun... period. Balloons + Painting... Now that is going to be the best time ever! Perhaps suggest this idea as a way to settle down after a birthday party or an exciting game of "Don't Let the Balloon Touch the Ground".

3. Bubbles- This activity will have your child blown away. Add watercolor to your child's bubbles and teach them how to aim when they blow their next masterpiece.

4. Toy Cars- You can really play up this idea by providing children with  materials to experiment with such as ramps and different sized toy cars with different kinds of patterns on their tires. I definitely wouldn't let your child use their favorite toy cars for this.

5. Yarn- I love the effect of this when the strokes of the yarn stay visible on the paper. Trust me, there are plenty young artists who will use the yarn as an excuse to go hands all in... and all the power to them. That's awesome and it definitely speaks to their personality.  Remember, it is their experience and exploration that matters most, not the final product.

6. Hands and Feet- Mentally prepare yourself for this one because it sure can get messy. That's what makes it so fun though! Your child will either love or despise this activity depending on their sensory tolerance. Offer plastic gloves as an alternative to bare hands. I recommend this be an outside activity and have plenty of paper on hand.

7. Bottles- This is a trash to treasure story, especially when your child realizes the bottoms of bottles stamp fun flower shapes. They can explore the difference in markings when they roll the bottle, stamp the bottom and stamp the top. I'm sure they'll have plenty of new techniques of their own. I recommend this as Spring time activity for its flower shapes and easy translation into an Earth Day learning experience. Every day should be an Earth Day.

8. Q-tips- This is an easy clean up activity. I recommend tying the experience to learning about Pointillism and exploring Australian art  (Australian Dreamtime Art). Showing children different kinds of art from different countries makes the learning more meaningful (and fun of coarse). It also provides a vehicle for inspiration for future projects and learning.

9. Kitchen Utensils- Your child will surely cook up some fun artwork with these tools. Why not do this activity after a morning or afternoon of baking together? I would say a rolling pin, spatula, fork, spoon and a whisk would be my first go to. I would recommend purchasing plastic utensils that the child(ren) can continue to play with afterwards... in their art, play kitchen or with their play dough.

Now off you go! Have some fun!

Good Luck everyone! Please share your thoughts, other ideas and experiences below!