This finger paint recipe is great for all ages, even young toddlers who still put things in their mouths. Mix together one cup flour and one and a half teaspoons of salt. Add one cup of water and mix together. Add your choice of food coloring. It will have a gritty texture.
Use this finger paint for just about any activity. It is great for little ones just to get the feel of the paint on their hands. Allow students to experiment with it and have them put their hand prints on the paper, or have them paint circles all over the paper.
This recipe is a fun one to use. It is probably better suited for older toddlers and preschoolers. Make sure children keep their hands away from their eyes. Pour laundry detergent into a small amount of water. Mix using an electric mixer or egg beater. It will have a thick consistency. Add any color tempera paint and mix well. This finger paint recipe is great to use on finger paint paper because of its thicker consistency.
This is a fun option for all ages, even young toddlers. It is safe to eat. Make pudding according to package directions. If you want different colors, make vanilla and mix food coloring in.
Spoon the pudding out in bowls or pie tins and allow your students to create their pudding pictures. One fun activity to do with pudding paint is to have children paint their pictures on wax paper. While it is still wet, take a piece of Manila paper and press it on the wax paper.
Shaving cream makes a wonderful finger paint for older toddlers and preschoolers. Just make sure no one ingests any. Simply squeeze out some shaving cream onto a table or desk top. Allow students to use their hands and create pictures with it. An added bonus to using shaving cream as finger paint is that it cleans the tables and desk tops.
These mix in ideas are an excellent opportunity to teach about textures. For a rough texture, mix uncooked rice into your finger paint. For a smooth, slippery texture, mix in dish washing liquid soap. For a grainy texture, mix in coffee grounds. For a sticky texture, mix in corn syrup. The corn syrup will also have a super shiny finish when it dries.
As the mixture is cooling, divide into separate bowls and add food coloring. Let the children carefully mix in the coloring.
2 tsp. salt
3 c. cold water
2 c. hot water
Sweetened condensed milk
Food coloring or brightly colored fruit juice
Pour a small amount of sweetened condensed milk into several small bowls. Mix in a few drops of food coloring in each bowl to create a variety of colors. Help your toddler use the coloured sweetened condensed milk to paint on newspaper, butcher paper, or craft paper.
Some parents may prefer to avoid food coloring because their toddler is allergic to it or because they want to use more natural ingredients.
Red - cherry juice, raspberry juice, cranberry juice
Blue - blueberry juice
Yellow - dried turmeric
Health food stores may carry vegetable based food coloring.