Feet Painting!

This week we have been exploring paint through our feet by painting on a large piece of paper inside our classroom. It was exciting to watch how the children reacted to the paint and the music being played. Some children tip-toed gently across the paper, while others stomped and danced in the paint creating big splatter marks of bright blue, pink, and orange everywhere. We discussed how the paint felt “wet” and “slimy as we slid across the paper. Some children laughed as they watched the paint drip from their toes, wiggling and shaking their toes in the process, hoping to catch their friend’s attention. Many of them shouted and pointed to their friends, “Hey! Look at my footprints!”

The benefits to feet painting are endless!

This activity allows children to interact with the color and texture of paint on a large scale; encouraging them to work closely and cooperatively with their peers, as they help one another walk and stand upright on this new slippery surface. Floor painting emphasizes movement and gives the children freedom to move across the paper in whatever way is most comfortable and fun for them.

One of my favorite Early Childhood Education authors Anna Pelo, the author of, “The Language of Art, Inquiry-Based Studio Practices in Early Childhood Settings” describes the beautiful relationship children can form when they interact with raw art materials. 

 “In our work with these materials, we strive to honor the ways in which children live in their bodies, growing relationships with materials through their physical encounters with them; revel alongside the children in messy, physical exploration that celebrates all our senses; this provides opportunities for children to explore texture and movement through a range of physical encounters, building a foundation for further art exploration.”