Guest Feature: Toothbrush Painting with Kids

Hey lovelies! I'd like to introduce you to a lovely and creative mama that I met through VoiceBoks, Dominique!  Today she is sharing a fantastic and fun activity to get you through those rainy Spring days when you can't get the little ones outside to play.  Enjoy!




Being cooped up in the house with the kids due to the rain need not be a bad thing. There are many different activities which one can do with the little ones to occupy them.

Spray painting is what I have been recently doing with my kids. All of us find it fun to do together on a rainy afternoon. Here are the items that are needed.

• Old tooth brushes
• Paints
• Cut outs/stencils. ( We used bread cutters as I have many around the house)
• Drawing paper
• Tape ( To hold the cut outs/stencils or drawing paper in position)

I made the kids wear aprons as it can be quite messy and also placed paper at the bottom around their table to prevent the paints from ending up on the floor during the spraying sessions.
 There are a few ways to do spray painting.
 1. Coat the brush with paint then make your child brush through a wire mash or kitchen strainer. This is good for younger kids who are not able to control the brush properly. The effect will be similar to the finished product shown in the first picture above.
 2. Let the kid try flicking the brush above the drawing paper to get the "spray" effect. Do note that the paint would have to be slightly wetter then usual to be able to flick the brush around. 3. Use your finger to spray the paint around. This is what I did with my 5 yr old and he really enjoyed it. It didn't bother him that his hands ended up multicoloured at the end of the activity.

Are you tempted to try out this activity at home with your kids?

Dominique Goh, Singaporean elementary school teacher, freelance writer and mom of three who is passionate about parenting and educating kids. In her free time you can see her dabbling in photography, cooking and cake decorating and blogging at Dominique’s Desk.