Painting helps tamariki | children to learn creative expression and non-verbal communication.
Your tamaiti will use different techniques to explore symbols and concepts from your own and other cultures. They will often paint what they know and feel rather than what they see. It is important that you let them paint in their own way.
Painting also helps tamariki with their gross and fine motor skills.
Tips for painting at home#
Have aprons or overalls available so clothes are covered. You can also do painting in other places such as outside on paths, fences, or large cardboard boxes, and together with carpentry or collage constructions.
Group painting is a lot of fun – try attaching a large strip of old wallpaper to a fence or put it on the ground and see what happens!
Let your tamaiti explore by:
- using the same colour(s) over and over again
- mixing different colours together to see what happens
- painting on different surfaces and textures, including their hands.
You can also display paintings by famous artists including Māori, Pākehā, Pacific and others.
Ideas for painting equipment and resources
- Paper, cardboard and fabric of all sizes, textures, and colours to paint on.
- A range of bright, clean colours and shades of colours to choose from.
- A range of painting tools such as short brushes for younger children, thick and thin brushes, sponges, rollers, leaves, pinecones, lids or other objects of different shapes.
- Other surfaces or objects to paint on such as boxes, stones or wood offcuts.
- A range of different paints – water colour palettes, non-toxic poster paint and watered-down food grade dye are the best, safe choices.
- Elei painting, using a wooden stencilled plank. Tamariki can put a cloth over the painted stencil and transfer the pattern to the cloth.
Learning through painting#
Painting can help your tamaiti to:
- use shape, form, and colour to express themselves
- experiment with colour and texture
- represent and explore ideas
- show moods and feelings
- show appreciation of a work of art
- recognise the symbols, styles, and modes of your own and other cultures
- develop hand, eye, arm, and body coordination
- develop finger and hand muscles.
Support your tamaiti#
You can support your tamaiti by:
- valuing their artwork and treating it with respect
- renewing paints and paper regularly and keeping the area tidy
- asking open ended questions such as, "would you like to tell me about your picture?"
- naming and dating their work in small tidy writing in a corner or on the back of the work
- making sure there’s a safe place to dry and display their work.
