Today I decided set up a painting activity for Buddy to enjoy. I have wanted to try paper plate painting with him for a while, after reading this brilliant post by Learn with Play at Home.

Baby and Toddler Play: Paper Plate Painting

I prepared the paint using the Edible Finger Paint Recipe I have used before. This time I decanted the paint into plastic squeezy bottles, to enable Buddy to tip and pour the paint himself.

I set up this play in the wet room, because I knew it was going to get very messy!

Buddy squealed and went straight towards the plate with paint on it. He picked the plate up and watched the paint drip onto the tiles. He then spent a while slapping the paint, making lovely pink splatters all over the floor and walls. (Didn’t I say it would be messy!)

Buddy then spied the squeezy bottle and knocked it over to try to get the paint out. He spent a while slapping the bottle before giving up on it!

Buddy then spotted the yellow paint and decided to play with that. He enjoyed touching it and moving his fingers through the paint, before turning his attention back to the paint bottles.

Buddy spent a long time examining the bottles and had worked out where the paint came out, however couldn’t quite work out how to tip the bottle to release the paint. I showed Buddy the paintbrushes and he got stuck in! He didn’t quite figure out how to use the brush end, but had fun painting with the stick.

He then had fun spreading the paint over the floor by crawling through it. Followed by the obligatory taste test of course!

The best part of this play for me was seeing how far Buddy has come since his first messy play a few months ago. Back then he ate absolutely everything and didn’t seem to understand the concept of playing with materials as well as ingesting them. Now he is satisfied with a quick taste and then gets right back to playing!

Warning
As I have already stated this is a very messy play. I would suggest playing outdoors or on a tiled surface.
If playing on a tiled surface, be aware that the floor will get slippery very quickly. I mopped up with paper towels every few minutes to prevent Buddy from slipping and banging his head.

Skills we used
Buddy was working on his problem solving skills trying to get the paint from the bottle.
Fine motor skills and dexterity – using hands and tools to spread the paint.
Balance and co-ordination (on the slippery floor).
Colour recognition – obviously he doesn’t know his colours yet but it’s a step in the right direction.

Entertainment Value
Buddy played with the paint for around half an hour, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Build on it?
This will be brilliant for older toddlers to start learning colours and shapes. I can’t wait to try it again!

Clean up
This paint is cornflour (cornstarch) and water based. I use natural food colouring and it cleans easily with water. It hasn’t stained anything of ours yet.

If you decide to try this, please come back and tell me how much fun you had!

I have shared this post on the Mad Midweek Blog Hop – #mmwbh. Why not check it out?