Little Leonardos

Boy 1 liked to paint from his first try, but in the past couple months, Boy 2 also has begun to warm to painting and a few other art-type activities. Part of it is, he's getting better fine-motor control. But also, he's figured out that paint has some dimension and texture, and he's very tactile, so he likes that. Boy 1, on the other hand, has begun to develop different techniques now. He has learned that making a picture with a brush is different from crayon or pencil, and he has adapted nicely without showing any frustration.

Here are two of the boys' paintings. As you can see, Boy 1 favors fine detail while Boy 2 is all about bold, fearless color.

We ran through the paints that were leftover after Christmas craft kits were used up pretty quickly. But that's been no problem. I'll probably never buy ready-made paints now that we know how to make our own! I tried two recipes I found online at first, but both were just a little off--one was too watery to finger paint with, the other didn't hold onto its colors when it dried. A few adjustments later, the recipe below is what we came up with instead.

We like this because it's not too time-consuming to make, has ingredients I've always got in the cupboard anyway (and not requiring another trip to the store is pretty much why I tried making paint myself in the first place), most colors hold up pretty well when they dry, and the wet paint doesn't have that sharp chemical smell some fingerpaints do. And--so far anyway--it has easily washed out of everything it was splashed on, from hair to clothes to carpeting. I suspect the soap mixed right in is why. The soap must also be why this paint--which is otherwise pudding, if you think about the ingredient list--does NOT attract ants or any other creepy, crawly thing.

Kid-Friendly Finger/Brush Paint

2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup corn starch
1 cup water
2 tablespoons dishwashing liquid
food coloring

Whisk sugar, corn starch, and water in a cold saucepan. Turn heat to low and heat through, whisking frequently. Cook until the mixture becomes a translucent white gel. Cool completely and gently stir in soap (no whisking now or it will get foamy). Divide into separate containers, then stir in food colorings of choice.