What can you paint with finger paints and what does it promote for children?

What really appeals to children are the finger paints. Hardly anything is as fun for them as picking up the colors with their whole hand and using them to create the most colorful pictures. And the options are so diverse that this type of activity never gets boring - perfect for a simple craft afternoon as well as forhomemade giftsfor any occasion. We have a few creative ideas for painting with finger paints that you can try out with your children or in kindergarten.

What is promoted when painting with finger paints?

What encourages painting?with finger paints? Painting and drawing in general is very important and beneficial for children, no matter what type of paints or pencils you use. However, paints for the fingers are also wonderfully suitable for particularly small bullies who cannot yet hold brushes and pens securely. Spatial awareness and dimensions, proportions and details are just a few of the many things your child will learn when drawing and painting with finger paints and other materials. Added:

Learn with fun

  • Fine and gross motor skillsare encouraged in painting and drawing. Straight and clear lines are important for a beautiful drawing and your child will quickly notice this. He will then try to keep his hand as still as possible. A well developed oneFine motor skills are also important, if your child later learns to write.
  • Drawing and also painting with finger paints promote thiscreativity. He learns to experiment, combine, mix and play with colors.
  • Drawings are an individual work that you can't go wrong with. However, if your child wants to learn to draw certain shapes or figures, they will also receive criticism or suggestions for improvement from you. This way it learnsdeal with setbacksand start new attempts.
  • The child learnsfocus, because it is dedicated to a specific thing instead of being distracted by dozens of toys. They also need to carefully observe objects they want to paint. This also has an impact on everyday life, because once you start observing, your little one will certainly become interested in more and more things in their environment and then want to put them on paper.
  • Also the right oneEye and hand coordinationare goals when painting with finger paints that are beneficial for children.

Painting with finger paints – tips

So that painting with finger paints really workswill be fun, you can follow our tips:

  • Make sure your child doesn't touch anything with their dirty hands that they shouldn't touch (couch, kitchen cabinets, carpets, etc.). For this purpose, for example, with small children you can use the high chair in which they also eat. If your child is one of those people who doesn't want to sit in a high chair, you can also be the barrier between the creative area and the rest of the home. If your child suddenly starts running, you can stop them.
  • For example, you can stick the paper that is to be painted to a cutting board or other surface with adhesive tape to prevent it from slipping.
  • Dress the children in old clothes or let them paint with finger paints in their underwear or diaper if it is warm enough.
  • Protect the table and floor from the paint with supports (old tablecloths, newspaper, an old sheet or old curtains, etc.).
  • Have additional paper and other materials ready so that you have everything to hand and don't have to leave your children unattended for a second.
  • Have wet wipes and possibly paper towels and other cloths available for cleaning.
  • Admire the finished work! This makes the little ones proud and is very important.

Make your own finger paint

Finger paint is of course available ready-made and in a wide variety of colors. But if you spontaneously come up with something like thiswant to paint colorsIf you don't have any at home, you can easily make some yourself. All you need is:

  • 500 ml water
  • 45g corn starch
  • 4 tbsp fine sugar
  • food coloring

Combine the first three ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Stir until the mixture becomes thick. Then divide the mixture into several bowls or other containers and add two drops of the desired colors to each. Mix everything together well and let the colors cool down a little. Then you can finger paint any things with children.

Painting with finger paints – ideas to imitate

Depending on how old your children are, a wide variety of things can be painted with finger paints. Not only canthe painting techniques vary, but also the material on which the painting is made. We have put together ideas and instructions for painting with finger paints below.

Idea for finger paints on canvas – funny rainbow

This rainbow is pretty simple to make, but still not necessarily suitable for crèche children. Dabs of rainbow colors are applied to the thumb. Then you place your thumb on the canvas and immediately pull it in any direction. We find the idea of ​​turning the rainbow into a man very funny. To do this, simply add arms, legs and face with a sharpie once the finger paints have dried.

Create a canvas with homemade paints

This cute image is bothfor momas well as a great gift for grandparents or aunts and is also quick and easy to make. Take a canvas and place any motif on it. You can print this out or draw it yourself and then cut it out. If you want, you can temporarily fix it to the canvas with double-sided tape to prevent it from slipping when painting with finger paints. For gluing, use a material that will not leave residue on the canvas when removed later.

Then the fingers are dipped into the colors andthe canvasDesigned around the heart with dots and fingerprints. Make sure that they also overlap the motif so that its outlines are easier to see later. Once the colors have dried, you can remove the motif. As in the example, you can also print out a message or poem with a greeting and stick it onto the canvas.

Painting with finger paints with toddlers

Werwith small childrenIf you want to use finger paint, pictures of simple hand, foot and fingerprints are probably the best choice. Wonderful pictures can be created using this simple, yet fun technique and can then be given as gifts. Even if you want to keep crèche children busy by painting with finger paints, the technique is great.

Painting with finger paints in the nativity scene - getting animals from fingerprints

The children can really do itget creativeand encourage their imagination when they have to create new motifs from the simple fingerprints. It's a bit like discovering certain figures in the clouds. The bees in the picture above are just one possibility. You can also finger paint flowers, trees and other animals in this way.

In the picture above you can see a few suggestions for different animals. The finishing touches are given with a black felt-tip pen. Once the little ones have seen and copied a few suggestions, they are guaranteed to come up with many more themselves. One afternoon won't be enough for them to paint with finger paints!

For older children, the pictures can also consist of specific figures and motifs. Otherwise, abstract designs are also well suited for the little ones. The colors can be distributed as desired on the sheet of paper or canvas. The child can experiment freely and push, pull, paint or dab the colors. On a canvas, the finished picture is guaranteed to be oneperfect wall decoration.

Painting with finger paints and creating a colorful pumpkin

Would you like to keep toddlers busy by finger painting? Then this would bePumpkin ideabut a great variant! The pumpkin should ideally be white or as light as possible so that the colors can stand out better. Then put colors on a plastic plate or palette and the children can start painting.

Paint on glass with finger paints

Older children who are no longer at risk of injury and adults can also use glass as a surface for painting with finger paints. It doesn't matter whether it's a simple pane of glass, a mirror or a picture frame without the back. On a glass surface, the motifs take on an interesting texture when the paint has dried, so that you can create beautiful pictures with your fingers that look very pretty, especially on the wall. And onegreat gift ideaare pictures like this!

Paint on wood with finger paints

You can even paint with finger paints on wooden discsin kindergartenor at home. Whether a colorful mix of colors or specific motifs – the wooden discs are a wonderful basis and will later make a perfect decoration in your own home. You can get great motifs with fingerprints, among other things, for which you can also use the animal examples from the picture above. Or how about this penguin?

Painting a penguin with finger paints

First paint any background with your fingers. Once the paint has dried, add black dots (or fingerprints) and let them dry in the same way. Then the white fingerprints are added to the black ones and after this paint has dried, the beak and eyes can be painted on.

Paint wooden discs colorfully

You can see some great ideas for colorful wooden discs that even small children can create in the picture above. If you add nails and string, the wooden discs look even more interesting, but even without them they can be real eye-catchers. You can also dilute the colors a little with water so that they can be spilled and create the look of watercolors. Homemade finger paints are also more fluid than purchased ones and are suitable for this purpose. The finished design can also be sealed with a suitable varnish (e.g. for coasters).

Maximum fun when painting with finger paints

Allow your children to get really dirty with colors. To do this, put them in a swimsuit or just old clothes, spread out an oversized sheet of paper on the floor (or several small ones glued together) and the little ones can get really creative and not only paint with their hands with finger paints, but even Insert legs and feet.