Painting with Natural Materials

Activity Overview

When thinking about activities and work that help strengthen fine motor muscles, painting is often at the top of the list. This activity combines fine motor work with natural, seasonal materials, instead of a traditional painting tool in order to experiment with how things move and can be manipulated. Painting with natural materials encourages students to activate their imagination, generalize their fine motor control, and explore a different type of mark-making available through the use of non-traditional materials.

What You Need

• Natural materials such as stones, shells, sticks, pinecones, acorns, flowers, leaves of flowers, grasses, and anything else that catches your eye

• Paper

• Tempera paint (we recommend starting with yellow and green, and having the student add a color of their choice)

• Paper plate

• A smock (or clothes you don't mind getting paint on)

Steps

1. Lay out the paper on the table or on the floor.

2. Give the child paint on a paper plate, which will allow them to dip larger items like stones in the paint.

3. Remind your student to use their materials safely.

4. Allow them to explore the different marks they can make with the natural materials.

Guiding Questions

• How do the different objects make different marks?

• How many different marks can you make?

• Which found material do you like best for painting?

• Can you use any of them as a stamp?

• How does the paint feel on our hands?

Extensions

• Can you do this again with new colors? With different found materials?

• Can you do it on bigger or smaller paper?

• Can you create work for a friend?