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Let’s discuss an activity that is great for children of all ages and doesn’t require elaborate setup, advance planning, or a lot of equipment. A sure way to delight the masses and earn you the title of “cool parent.” Even though finger painting seems like such a simple activity, it offers children great sensory stimulation and learning opportunities! This is also one of the most creative and underappreciated hobbies because it’s so simple to put up and you can find a lot of the things you need at home or in art supply stores. Finger painting has numerous, well-established advantages. Now, let’s explore this vibrant method to get your hands messy with your children!

Why is Finger Painting Good for Children?

While parents may sometimes want to avoid finger painting because of the mess that they associate with it, the fact is that it offers a host of advantages.

1. Stimulates the senses

Finger Painting is known to improve sensory learning as it stimulates different senses. In fact, the activity encourages children to use their senses of sight, smell, touch, and more while they play. The sensory integration that they learn, in turn, helps them in later life as they take on different concepts.

2. Communication

We may not look at it like this. However, finger painting is an excellent medium of self-expression. Children will often end up using colours and creating images that reflect their state of mind. Finger painting can usually express their feelings and be highly therapeutic. You may be amazed at not just their creation but also the robust workings of their mind.

3. Hand-eye coordination

What the child will also benefit from through finger painting is improved hand-eye coordination. Besides, it will lead to the strengthening of finger and hand muscles, which, in turn, will lead to the development of pre-writing and several other skills needed in life.

4. Enhances creativity

Finger Painting sparks creativity in children. Playing with colours, patterns, and more enhances their imagination and offers them a creative outlet. Whether or not they have an exceptional talent in painting, the activity helps them enjoy the process.

What do you need for the activity?

This is one activity that does not need too many supplies. All that is required is finger paint, an apron, a large sheet of paper and some cleaning material.

How to do finger painting with children?

All you need to do is spread the paint on the paper and let the child use their hands to make patterns. It will be a good idea to join in yourself and partake in the fun. All you need to do is follow the child’s lead in terms of finger-painting ideas and have hours of fun. If they have never used their fingers to paint before, show them what they can do – dots, stripes, zig zag, patterns – you are only limited by your imagination! Some of the other patterns that you can try include:

• Rainbows
• Flowers
• Peacock Thumb Painting
• Snowmen
• Fishpond
• Fireflies, and more

Depending on the child’s age, you can also encourage them to mix colours to create new ones. The results will be magical. An added perk is that they will also learn interesting concepts early on!

While you are creating several different patterns, it will be a good idea to talk to the child about it. For instance, if the child creates dots using blue paint, it will be good to point out how lovely those blue dots look! What you are doing in the process is introducing new vocabulary words, enhancing communication, and more. Bonding over a shared activity could also give you several coachable moments with the child. You could speak on a range of age-appropriate topics without being too preachy. It may turn out to be just the right setting for the child to share their thoughts and emotions and for you to understand them better,

Before we end, it would be worthwhile sharing a recipe for creating finger paint at home.

Homemade finger paint recipe

All you need to create finger paint at home is boiling water, cornstarch, and food colouring.

Put about half a cup of cornstarch in a bowl with some cold water. Mix it so that it forms a paste. Now, keep mixing boiling water until you reach the right consistency. Let it cool. Once it has, you can divide it into portions and add a different food colouring to each portion to get paint of various colours.

To Sum Up

The advantages of finger painting for young children cannot be overemphasized. All you need to do is ensure that young children do not put the paint in their mouths. For very young children, you can also consider creating edible paint with yoghurt and food colouring, which will not be harmful if they put it in their mouths.

As for the mess they may create, in this case, as a famous advert says, “daag ache hain”! After the child is done painting, encourage them to put everything away in the right place and help clean up. This will inculcate a sense of responsibility while also instilling in them the basic skills needed in life.

At Footprints, a chain of play schools and creches across the country, our focus is on children’s holistic development. We use the scientifically developed HighScope Curriculum, where children are guided to explore, interact, and exercise their creative imagination through purposeful play.