Montessori Painting with Children | Tips

Painting with children

How to Support Montessori Painting with Young Children

I’ve been painting with many children in staged Montessori art spaces over the years, and I’ve also observed how they best learn to paint. So, I wanted to share some tips on how to support concentration and independence while kids paint. These tips can be helpful if you’re trying to create more Montessori painting activities within your classroom or home. 

Here are some tips on how you can support creative painting sessions:

  • Flow & Concentration
  • Independence
  • Exploration & Discovery
  • Creative Experimentation
  • Freedom Within Limits

Support Flow & Concentration

Allow uninterrupted periods of creative time while your students are working. When you don’t interrupt children’s painting, they can enter more creative states of flow with heightened concentration. Children can concentrate and go deeper into learning new ideas when not interrupted. To help with these states of flow, try to observe your students from a distance. Too often, creative flow is interrupted by teachers or parents. You should practice more uninterrupted work periods by being conscious of how you are interacting with your child during their painting sessions.

Support Independence 

You can support your students’ independence by preparing their art environment to support their painting independence. Think about how you have arranged their painting space. Is their working space aligned with their level of abilities? Is their drying area nearby and easy for them to hang or lay their paintings on? Are materials all set up and easy for them to reach so they can get to work? Have you given them the right amount of demonstrations so they know how to use all the materials properly? By revisiting demonstrations, you can support your child to work more independently.

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Support Exploration & Discovery

Exploration and discovery can come in many ways. Allow your children the freedom to choose their materials, such as paint colors, and paintbrush sizes. You can even give them the freedom to choose the size of paper they want to paint on. Children flourish when they can explore how materials behave or even discover how they work in different ways. The process of exploration and discovery is the best way young children learn painting skills. Allow for lots of discovery time. Young children learn to paint over a long period of time. Try supporting more exploration and discovery rather than the outcome.

Support Creative Experimentation

When children go in different directions than you had planned, take a deep breath and allow their experimentation to happen. Example: If they do not use the paintbrush the way you demonstrated or do not choose the colors you planned in your example. You might be thinking, “Green would look lovely for painting turtles,” but your student thinks, “Purple turtles are better!” If your child uses their fingers to paint instead of the paintbrush you took time to stage, as long as they are safe and not disrespecting the art materials, simply allow this type of creative experimentation to go on. This is truly considered one of the artistic processes the National Core Art Standards supports; it’s called INVESTIGATE!

Montessori PAINTING with Children | Tips

Support Freedom Within Limits

YES, discovery and exploration are part of the creative process, but we can provide freedom within limits by presentations and demonstrations that support healthy limits. We can demonstrate where the painting will take place, where it’s accepted in the art environment, and where it’s NOT allowed.

One of the biggest lessons I learned early on, which I share in several of my kids’ painting books, is that you need to explain to children where painting is not allowed, like the walls, and how walking around with loaded paintbrushes is not allowed outside of their art workspace. I also explain to children how to set up and clean up when they are done painting. 

As a homeschool mom, I even had to explain this to two of my own little artists. The freedom should be in what they want to express or paint but not where they want to paint. 😉

I hope these tips help you bring the joy of painting into your Montessori spaces. 

If you want to learn more, I recommend learning more about my books, video training, and art supplies.

Spramani Elaun

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

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No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.

Holiday Craft | Painting Ornaments

During the holiday things get busier, but we also create space for special moments, even in the Montessori classroom. Painting holiday crafts are a fantastic way for children to express their creativity and independence. I’ve painted ornaments with countless kids in classrooms and workshops during the holidays, and they all enjoy this craft immensely! It’s a keepsake that students and their families can cherish for years. Every year, I have kids coming back to create a new ornament for their collection.

Holiday Craft | Painting Ornaments

Setting Up a Kids Craft Activity

One of the great things about this kids’ holiday craft is its simplicity in setup, requiring just a basic paint kit without the need for many special items. Opting for woodcraft ornaments is beneficial as they are environmentally friendly compared to plastic and safer for younger children than glass ornaments.

Here are some handy tips for organizing this festive art activity for your students (or for kids at home too!):

Holiday Craft | Painting Ornaments, child painting

Creating a Mess-Free Painting Area

Ensure the painting space is located in an area where children can freely engage in a bit of messiness. Consider using a drop cloth, especially if painting indoors. Provide smocks, aprons, or large old t-shirts for the kids to wear, protecting their clothes from potential stains—some paints are challenging to wash off fabrics.

To enhance the painting experience, place the materials at eye level on a flat and stable surface, such as a table. Adding another layer of protection with a drop cloth or old newspaper on top can further safeguard the painting area from spills and splatters.

Holiday Craft | Painting Ornaments

Ornament Supplies

Here’s a list of everything you’ll need for this kids’ holiday craft:

  • Wooden ornaments – any shape will work, but ‘holiday shapes’ add to the festive spirit
  • Acrylic paint – for the best and longest-lasting results
  • Paintbrushes – various sizes, including fine/tiny ones for details
  • Paint palette – any size works, even a simple paper plate
  • Glitter – choose any color; white glitter adds a lovely touch to painted ornaments
  • Smock – or another cover-up to protect kids’ clothes from acrylic paint stains
  • Napkins – for cleaning paintbrushes between color changes
  • Water jar – for rinsing paintbrushes
  • Hairdryer (optional) – handy for speeding up the drying process, especially for older kids or adults working on intricate details
kids painting crafts
Painting Tips

Ornaments: You can purchase unfinished wood craft shapes at local superstores, craft stores, or online. Glass orb ornaments can also be used, but caution is advised with younger children. Consider recycling old ornaments by refreshing their designs or allowing kids to create new ones from scratch.

Paint: Opt for acrylic paint for its durability and longevity. Memories can last a lifetime—I still display ornaments my kids painted when they were young every holiday season! Ensure you use kid-safe, non-toxic acrylic paint for this activity.

Holiday Ornaments

How to choose colors

Encourage children to express their creativity freely by allowing them to paint whatever inspires them, whether traditional holiday themes or personal creations. While kids may opt for symbols of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or other winter holidays, they have the freedom to choose.

Here are some recommended colors to kickstart the painting process:

  • Red
  • Black
  • White
  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Dark Green
  • Yellow
  • Orange
  • Pink
  • Purple
  • Brown
  • Burgundy deep red

If you don’t have all these colors, that’s perfectly fine; beautiful ornaments can still be created using just three to four colors!

Remember, when using glitter, ensure children apply it while the paint is wet. If they wait until the paint dries completely, the glitter won’t adhere well and may not stick effectively.

Take it a Step Further: Grab Your FREE Kids Holiday Crafts Painting Checklist!

If you’re new to painting activities with your students, get ready for a delightful experience—kids truly enjoy this craft! The setup is straightforward, making it easy to repeat with your students multiple times throughout the holiday season. You can also explore related activities like rock painting or painting on paper using the same materials; only the images, paint colors, and canvases may vary.

kids painting book

Buy Kids Painting Online Here

Painting Guide for Teachers and Parents

Discover a straightforward guide tailored for teachers and parents to kickstart painting lessons with ease. This book equips you with essential knowledge on the required materials, the best paints suited for kids, fundamental painting techniques, and my top tips for creating an exciting painting exploration experience for your students. Get ready to ignite a passion for art in your students as you embark on this colorful journey of creativity and learning. Unleash the joy of painting and inspire young minds to express themselves through art! ORDER NOW

A Short Cut Just for You

Once you see how much your students love painting, you’re going to want to include it as a regular part of your curriculum. My Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum has 57 master lessons that walk students through everything they need to know to be successful at painting, from setting up a paint station and holding a brush all the way to creating beautiful nature landscapes and painting different types of animals!

Each lesson is part of a sequence and includes all the components, tips, materials lists, and instructions you need to ensure you will be able to actually teach your students to become skilled painters. All you have to do is simply follow the instructions and easily present the activities to your students.

Kids Painting Practice & Process Curriculum sets the foundation for their art education and will help them transform into little artists! To purchase the curriculum, click here.

arts and craft book by Spramani Elaun

Spramani’s Books

Teach children visual arts

Curriculum For Children

Get step-by-step art curriculum to teach visual arts. Check out our 4 art curriculums:
Painting
Drawing
Color Theory
Clay Modeling

All rights reserved © 2024, Nature of Art®

No part of this blog may be used or be reproduced in any manner whatsoever including reproducing, publishing, performing, and making any adaptions of the work – including translation into another foreign language without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Nature of Art® Publishing P.O. Box 443 Solana Beach, California 92075.