Kids love getting messy – and that’s certainly part of the fun of painting! – but painting also gives the little ones the chance to express emotion and ideas, and to use their senses and explore colour. Painting can also help the grandies learn about shapes, numbers and patterns.
Some kids take to painting very quickly. You give them some paper and paint and they’re creating masterpieces for your wall before you have time to get their aprons on! But other little ones need a gentle hand to get them going, so how do we instil the confidence in them to give it a go?
We all get nervous if we think any activity is a bridge too far for us, so we just need to show them that painting can be very simple and a lot of fun. We grandparents may not be great artists either but we can still have fun with painting and be very proud of our stick figures and wobbly looking houses!
If your grandkids are struggling for a little inspiration, why not suggest that they look at what’s around them in the garden and that they paint something that looks fun or beautiful to them. Kids love to re-create the important things in their little lives so they’re very likely to want to include nan and grandad or mum or dad in their painting.
Kids also love having a reason to create something special ….let’s paint something to let mummy know that we love her, or let’s create something special for grandad’s shed wall.
If the grandies are too little to hold a brush yet, you can still begin a love of paint with them by creating some fun hand paint artwork with them. They can choose the colours that go onto each finger before they start their masterpiece!
Of course the lovely thing about the grandkids art, is that we may be lucky to keep and treasure a little of it. And painting afternoons offer wonderful photo opportunities to share back to the whole family.
