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Make this great DIY, easy to clean finger paint at home

With Vantine’s Day right around the corner, many parents are looking for new, fun ways to create homemade Valentine’s cards. Below is a recipe for our homemade finger paint. It is fun and easy to make AND easy to clean.

Ingredients

1/2 cup of cornstarch

2 tablespoons of dish soap

2 cups of water

Powered tempura paint (1 teaspoon per color) or food coloring

You will also need a saucepot, a whisk and your stovetop

Step 1: Mix water and cornstarch onto a saucepot

Turn on the stovetop to medium high heat and mix

Step 2: Mix continuously until the mixture thickens

Step 3: Add dish soap

Stir the soap in well

Step 4: Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes

Step 5: Add the mixture to the powdered paint (or food coloring)

Stir well. If the mixture is too thick, add a drop of water and a drop of dish soap

Step 6: Place paints in muffin tins

Add in other craft items as well!

Step 7: Create!!!

The Rainbow friends have begun a literature study. Keeping with the chilly theme of winter, the boys and girls are reading The Mitten by famed children’s book author and illustrator Jan Brett! This classic selection is an adaptation of a Ukrainian folk tale. The Mitten tells the story of Nicky, a little boy who longs for a new pair of snowy white mittens. He is warned by his Baba not to lose them in the snow as they will blend in with the blanket of snow. Of course, one of Nicky’s mittens goes missing, but a bevy of woodland creatures crawl in, attempting to stay warm. The Rainbow students are all crafting wonderful, multi-colored paper mittens (do visit our display in the hallway!). Also, they are enjoying the hands-on felt board version during Circle Time. In terms of dramatic play, the children are in the midst of creating a large, life-size mitten, to utilize while acting out the story. Wow! What a terrific extension of their learning!

In the Classroom, Rainbow friends continue to enjoy new sensory experiences. They love washing or diapering baby dolls, using vehicles and finger painting! Some upcoming sensory experiences will include “magic sand,” snow, and fuzzy puffs. Let’s get our hands busy, Rainbow friends!

Everybody watch out! During inclement weather, the Rainbow Classroom plans to utilize the hallway for gross-motor opportunities. There will be obstacle courses. There will be bike paths. There will be movement games. Lots and lots of good times, shaking out all those wiggles!

Starlight

The friends in the Starlight program have been very busy these days. A current favorite activity is the sensory table! The boys and girls continue to enjoy exploring sand, oats, rice, water, snow and ice! The students just love to get their hands dirty! Many items have also been added to our tables to enhance the student’s experimentation. This includes measuring cups, scoops, buckets and shovels. Tons and tons of fun!

As always, the Starlight kiddos love Story Time. Cozying up with friends and teachers to share special books is always a wonderful moment. The pupils have so many favorite titles! The Mitten Tree by Candace Christenson, Where Do Fairies Go When It Snows by Liza Gardner Walsh and Swatch by Julia Denos are just a few requested titles.

Up next: Learning about penguins, obstacle courses and scarf dancing!

Twilight

The Twilight group has been very curious about weather conditions these days and they continue to have a blast being little Scientists. The boys and girls have many questions about ice and its properties. They helped to fill up numerous buckets that froze overnight. The children had so many ideas for exploration! They colored on the ice, using multicolored chalk and paint. They covered the frosty blocks with tissue paper. Later, they used a flashlight to discover that, in some areas, light shines through the ice. They also experimented with food coloring, pipettes and much, much more. Wow! The children still have questions, though. They include “What melts ice the quickest?”, “Do different types of salt melt ice in varied manners?”And “Do pieces of ice stick to other pieces of ice?” In the coming days, the pupils will continue to formulate predictions and make scientific observations. Very cool!