Sponge Painting

Any craft that involves household items to create is a winner if you ask me! Chances are you will have all the items you need in the cupboard, the activity is going to be nice and cheap, and the kids are going to learn to be resourceful and imaginative with everyday items! Winners all round!

Enter stage left - sponge painting! 

I found this little gem found in 'Childrens Art & Crafts' by The Australian Women's Weekly' - a publication that was printed when I was a kid, and used by my own mum as a reference point for creating with my siblings and I! I remember pouring over it's pages with glee as a child, my head buzzing with ideas, and fingers itching to create!

All you need for this little activity is:

A craft apron to protect your little ones clothes - Jilly Jumbles can provide these!

Thick household sponges cut into shapes (you can also glue two thin sponges together).

Clothes pegs to act as handles for stamps - simply cut two slits at the top of each sponge to clip into.

Plates / bowls for coloured paint, and paper for stamping!

'A print is making an impression of an object onto paper or another surface. Printing encourages an appreciation of texture and the development of a design through the repetition of an impression... Because small muscle co-ordination is not necessary to quickly achieve attractive reproductions of objects, young children experience a sense of great accomplishment.'

Extract from 'Childrens Art & Crafts' by The Australian Women's Weekly'

We used paper plates as our medium for stamping, I find the thick cardboard great for handling paint, and easy for little hands to hold still while stamping. The paint impression from the sponges created a very interesting textural effect, and my boys loved experimenting with overlapping stamp impressions, dragging the stamps across the paper, and mixing colours! A fantastic activity, which we highly recommend you try at your place! (Oh, and you could of course wash and keep the sponges for next time - but I have to admit to being relieved at simply chucking these ones out...)