Indoor Chalk Painting

Hi, I'm Courtney ~ a Military Wife, Art Teacher, and Momma to a sweet blue~eyed little boy who's generous with his kisses and loves Mickey Mouse.  I share everyday art projects and creativity for children and families, along with my stories of love, faith, and motherhood on Once Upon a Canvas.  I dream of fresh boxes of Prismacolors, textured paper, and of one day having my own art studio where I can teach art to little ones on paint~stained tables all day long.Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments take me back to my childhood.It's been a cold winter here in the desert, which means we've been spending most of our time indoors.  Fewer outings to the park can make for one stir~crazy almost~two year~old, and a Momma who's already counting down the weeks to Spring~time;-)

Thank goodness, then, for activities like Indoor Chalk Painting that help to ease cabin favor a bit by bringing a little outdoor fun inside.

Indoor Chalk Painting is the perfect rainy or chilly weather alternative to warm and sunny day outdoor activities like this one(find our Sidewalk Chalk Painting activity here).

All you'll need to get your little ones going with this project are a few pieces of chalk, a chalkboard (if you don't have one,Amazon has an awesome, inexpensive selection; click here to go shopping) a paintbrush or two, and water.

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What You'll Need:
+ A Chalkboard
+ Chalk
+ Paintbrushes
+ A Small Cup of Water

What You'll Do:
+ Have your child chalk up their board any way they'd like (or, if they're still too young, you can do this part for them).
+ Allow them to choose a paintbrush.
+ Then, guide them to dip their brush in the cup of water, show them how it acts like paint on their chalkboard canvas, and let them go to explore how the water interacts with the chalk dust on their own.

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This painting activity just might be one of Jake's very favorites.  I'm not sure I've ever seen a project hold his attention for as long as this one does.  He'll paint in fifteen or twenty~minute stretches, go off to do something else for a little while, then come back, pick up his paintbrush, again, and continue where he left off.

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I love watching my little boy paint.  It just does something good to my heart.

He's at this really interesting stage, right now, where he's begun to recognize images in what he creates ~ whether he intends for them to be there or not (I'm guessing not just yet).

In the photo above to the left where he's pointing at what he's painted, he turned and looked at me to say "Duck!"  A little later on, he also discovered an elephant and a bird in his painting.

It's such an amazing thing to watch him learn, and to be actively participating in the process.

It's my personal belief that introducing children to even the simplest drawing and painting activities like this one on a regular basis (even at a very young age) does amazing things for their cognitive development and fine motor skills, not to mention their self esteem.

If nothing else, however ~ it's definitely something fun that you and your child can enjoy doing together, and that's a pretty wonderful thing all on it's own.

Happy painting!