How To Teach A Baby To Paint

A lot of art projects at our house end up being more like pretty science experiments. Really really messy, pretty science experiments.

Which is fine with me, I don’t mind a mess. I’d rather the kids have lots of fun and maybe even learn something (like how colors mix together… in their hand).

Mr.Man is very interested in the art projects that Lil’ Miss and I are often up to, so I try to include him as often as possible. Or I try to have projects that are geared more toward him. That means being edible mostly.

Today, we’re trying to paint with Koolaid. I guess I wouldn’t call Koolaid necessarily edible, but I don’t think that a small amount will hurt the baby and it’s better than eating paint.

First, with your “helper’s” assistance, gather your supplies. We got together watercolor paper, cut to size to fit on Mr.Man’s tray. Also some cotton balls, clipped in a clothespin to work as a nice kid sized “brush”, some Koolaid packets (I chose red and blue, thinking they would mix together pretty well) and a little dish of water.

Open the Koolaid packet and sprinkle a little on the watercolor paper.

Dip the cotton ball into the water and brush it through the sprinkled Koolaid to make beautiful colors.

At this point, Mr.Man noticed that I was dipping his cotton ball into water, and he demanded that the water be put on his tray. This is where it became less about painting and more about exploration with his favorite medium… water!

Lil’ Miss, on the other hand, was more into the painting. She made a bunch of abstract designs.

But the water ma! It’s so much fun!


Of course we have to try everything out with our mouths too, right?

Oh yeah, this is good stuff!

Surprisingly, the Koolaid cleaned right up in the bath, so that was easy. And we all had a lot of fun. I love his expressive little face!

Leave a comment below and tell me how you’re getting your baby started with art!

This post was published on Muse of the Morning.com