I often hesitate to do painting projects with my kids because of the mess that always ensues. When we do paint, I often do it outdoors in order to facilitate clean up. So now that the weather is warming up, we’ll be getting outside more often to paint!
For this activity, I wanted to try something a bit different. Rather than painting with brushes, we ended up painting with strings! This was a new experience for my kids that produced some pretty unique and beautiful artwork.
Note: For more painting projects to do with kids, see my arts and crafts for kids page.
I started by gathering some supplies, including:
- Paper
- Paint (in our no-spill paint cups
)
- Yarn
- Scissors (to cut the yarn into pieces)
We took our supplies outdoors and then I let the kids have fun. I handed the kids some lengths of yarn, and they began dipping them into the paint.
Then they layered their paint-dipped yarn onto their papers.
They had fun with some of the really long pieces of yarn!
I let the kids choose to put as many or as few pieces of string on as they wanted.
Once they had put sufficient paint-coated yarn onto their papers, they folded them in half.
Then we unfolded the paper, removed the string, and admired their artwork!
Looking for more hands-on activities that incorporate Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM)? Then you’ll love STEAM Kids! This book features 52 hands-on activities are helpfully identified by category (science / technology / engineering / art / math) so you know exactly what skills your kids are developing.
Grab a copy of the e-book delivered as a PDF download (or this e-book for EU residents) and in print at Amazon.
More resources for kid-friendly arts and crafts
More arts and crafts from Gift of Curiosity:
- Tape resist watercolor painting
- Coffee filter art
- Crystallized snowflakes
- Upcycled crayons
- Leaf collages
- Glue monsters
- Chromatography flowers craft
Note: For more kid-friendly craft projects, see my Arts and Crafts for Kids page and my Arts and Crafts Pinterest board.
Follow Katie @ Gift of Curiosity’s board Arts and crafts on Pinterest.
Sara says
May 15, 2014 at 9:07 amWhat a fun activity for preschoolers! I love that you painted with strings outside in the yard. It makes cleanup so much easier. 🙂
Erica Loop says
May 16, 2014 at 8:15 amGreat way to explore process painting with something other than a brush!
Nichole {youclevermonkey} says
May 16, 2014 at 11:47 pmWe just did this at preschool! Lots of fun with lots of experimentation. We used pegs to hold the string to try and keep fingers paint-free but I think using the paint pots is an even better idea. Found you via 123 Homeschool 4 Me linky.
Jennifer says
May 13, 2015 at 12:45 amThis is one of my favourite art activities for building fine motor control — we just posted our most recent attempt at it after I realized that we’ve done it easily a half dozen times without ever sharing with readers 🙂
I love the idea to take things outdoors.