Looking for fun and easy art projects for your child? Try using sponges to create a painting and/ or a palette knife instead of a brush. It’s fun for all ages, not just kids. Both tools give different and interesting textures to your project. Sponge painting is also a fun sensory activity.
What you will need:
- Acrylic paint (we used my stash of beloved Martha Stewart craft paint. It’s discontinued, but FolkArt is close)
- Sponge (I cut ours up to make it easier for small hands)
- Canvas or heavyweight paper
- Palette knife (using that term loosely here, we used a regular plastic knife)
- Container for water
- Palette for paint (or paper plate)
- Vinyl tablecloth or something else to protect your work area
- Rag / paper towel for wiping off hands/ tools
I laid everything out and had my son choose his paint colors. He picked two different shades of red and a gold metallic.
He was immediately interested in the sponge.
At first he was stamping down each color and cleaning off the sponge between colors. Everything was very separate.
At some point, he started loosening up and started dipping the sponge in multiple colors. As he was layering on his colors, he started telling me about his painting. Turns out, it’s a giant robot!
This was my favorite moment to watch – the robot’s legs were continued off the main surface of the canvas and on to the edge. Because why not, right? There are no rules.
Once they’re finished using one tool (in our case, the sponge), your child has the other tools to use if they wish. They may not want to use these, and that’s totally fine. It’s all about following their lead with what they want to explore when it comes to process art!
The knife is a great tool for kids to experiment with – it gives great thick texture, and it’s fun to scoop up a big glob of paint and smoosh it around. I love the combination of soft blended colors and bold smears in this painting.
Click here to learn more about the importance of open ended art materials for kids.
The finished painting.
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Has your child tried painting with sponges, palette knives, or other types of tools? If not, give it a try! Let us know how it goes in the comments.
