Acrylic Painting with Children

The other day I pulled out some crayola brand acrylic paint and nice acrylic paper for some simple art time.  I have done acrylic paint in the past with my other children and not had as much fun as we did this last time.  Usually I dump a little paint onto a paper plate, use some printer paper, and let them try.  This time I used a painting pallet, acrylic paint for kids, and nicer paper. 

A painting pallet can be purchased at any art store.  There are many different types and sizes.  I have lots of them, but the one I used with my daughter was probably the smallest type and about a dollar in price.  It is a nice way to keep your colors, mix colors, and keep everything neat and tidy.  

Acrylic paint dries really fast and is permanent.  It is a harder medium to paint with than watercolor because once the color is put down it is set.  You cannot lift the color with water.  Most the time young kids like my daughter don't feel the need to have to lift their paint, but it is permanent on clothing as well.  Using a crayola washable acrylic is a bit different.  It actually did lift a little.  It says it is washable and I found it came off of the table we were panting on.  It also did not dry as fast as regular acrylic paint so we didn't have to re-wet the paint on the pallet.  However it did dry rather rapidly once she was finished with her paintings and we laid them out to dry.  

Acrylic paper can be bought at art or craft stores.  It can range in price from very expensive to relatively cheep.  I purchased a book of 400 series paper.  The thicker paper is much better for holding paint.  I remember with my other children having the paint and water make the paper wet and since it was copy paper it would soon have holes in the paper.  Paint just works better on the better paper.  I find even with little artists it is nice to use something better than copy or construction paper.  

This was definitely a fun activity for my three year old.  She enjoyed using the paint and painted for about an hour.  I sat down and painted with her on my own paper.  I find when I do this my children focus as long on their painting as I do on mine.  I filled my entire paper with color and so did she.  I am almost certain that if I had not sat and painted an entire picture that she would have stopped sooner.  She filled her paper and gave lots of attention to her "mountain with green people on top" painting.  

What are your tips for painting with acrylics with children?  Have you tried it?  If not I challenge you to let your child enjoy this medium this week.