What’s more fun than painting? Dropper painting. If your little one has already become a pro at using a paintbrush, why not add in another interesting element? There are many ways to paint, and one that we just discovered at our house is dropper painting.
Most mothers with young children have accrued a fairly large quantity of medicine droppers. We have loads! So, I thought rather than tossing them, we’d have fun painting with them. Below is everything you need to know about dropper painting:
Materials
- Droppers, one for each color of paint
- Tempera paints
- Old containers, I used yogurt cups
- Paper, I recommend using a fairly sturdy option – ours was too thin and got a bit wrinkled when it dried!
For each color, mix a tiny little bit of water with the paint so it’s slightly more runny than usual. This makes it easier to draw it up into the dropper.
Teach It!
As a Montessorian, I always teach by example. I showed my little peanut how to get paint with the dropper and drip it onto the page. After one demonstration, he was off and running! The only tricky part seemed to be getting the paint into the dropper. So, I reinforced by telling him to “squeeze” and “let go” with the dropper still in the paint.
What Benefits Are Gained with Dropper Painting?
- Your child will develop his or her pincer grip
- Your child can learn about color mixing
- Your child will enjoy expressing themselves artistically
Pincer what? The pincer grip is the grip we use to hold a pen or pencil. Young children must develop their fine motor skills to be able to execute this grip. Any activities that practice this grip (using the pointer finger, middle finger and thumb) help strengthen your child’s muscles, preparing them to have more control as they begin writing and drawing.
My little peanut used yellow and blue. Towards the end of the activity, he began experimenting with mixing. Now, we’ve done this before, so I got comments like “Lets see what color it makes when we mix blue and yellow!” and then “Look, Mama it’s green!” Children almost always enjoy color mixing I find!
So, what are you waiting for? Get out those old medicine droppers, some paint and make some art!
Here’s my peanut having fun with this activity:
jehava
14 Oct 2016What a fun idea!! I have to do this with my toddler!
rpeachey19@gmail.com
14 Oct 2016Have fun! I hope you both enjoy it!
Paige Strand
14 Oct 2016Lol this looks like it might be a little messy. May attempt this with my nephew.
rpeachey19@gmail.com
14 Oct 2016Haha – surprisingly it was less messy than when we’ve painted with paintbrushes…but do recommend a smock and newspaper for the littlest ones!
Madi
14 Oct 2016I love this idea! I’m always looking for new things like this to do. Thanks!
raspberryscribbles.com
rpeachey19@gmail.com
14 Oct 2016Thanks Madi – hope you have fun!
Natasha
15 Oct 2016This is a super cute and fun looking activity! Love the thought of recycling yogurt cups!
rpeachey19@gmail.com
15 Oct 2016Thanks Natasha! Around here we love to recycle. Hope you enjoy it!
Joanne | No Plate Like Home
15 Oct 2016My older son doesn’t like finger painting because he doesn’t Rilke getting his hands messy so this is a great idea.
rpeachey19@gmail.com
16 Oct 2016Yes – a bit less messy than finger painting. Some kids find that a bit too intense for sure!
Rosemary
17 Oct 2016What a fun activity you have created from things you were going to throw away 🙂 Nice way to recycle. Will have to try this with my nephew soon!
rpeachey19@gmail.com
17 Oct 2016Thanks Rosemary, hope you have fun!!