A sensory painting idea that is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers but a true sensory delight for all ages, bubble wrap finger painting requires just a few commonly available art and household materials and makes fun art prints.
When I recently discovered the contents of a parcel protected in bubble wrap my first thought was, “Oooh, this could be fun!’ Then I thought about using it as the surface for some tabletop finger painting and I thought, “Oooh, this could be lots of fun!!”
And it was! I took one of our low play tables outside and taped the long strips of bubble wrap to the tabletop with masking tape. I then squirted some child friendly acrylic paints in complementary colors onto it, and our toddler was straight in – mixing the paints with her hands.
She loved rubbing her hands in the paint and then banging them on the table. Making hand prints, exploring with fingertips…
…feeling the paint and feeling the bumpy, knobbly surface of the bubble wrap.
She explored the paint and the fun, bumpy, bubbly surface for ages. We didn’t, but you can easily make wonderful art prints by pressing down pieces of paper onto the painted bubble wrap. The result is a fabulous spotty print that would make a wonderful wrapping paper.
And when it came time to clean up, I had a wet cloth ready for wiping off hands, and the table was a cinch – all I had to do was take off the bubble wrap!
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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
I love how this idea incorporates sensory exploration! You could also make prints from the bubble wrap by pressing a piece of paper gently on top. I recently posted a similar activity painting on bubble wrap with paintbrushes and tempera paint http://www.thebubblebox.com.au/blog/bubble-wrap-dancing-printing/. Another great way to explore bubble wrap is to put on some music for your child and dance around. Pause the music and jump up and down on the bubble wrap (see if you can make some pop!). Alternate between dancing to the music and stopping to jump on the bubble wrap. It’s lots of fun!