Like any kids, mine love to paint. Given the choice, they would probably paint all day, every day. Unfortunately, they have a stressed out mommy who doesn’t like extra messes and so, arts and crafts are sadly not a regular occurrence in our home (which is heartbreaking because art projects and experiences were always my favorite as a preschool teacher!) But the easiest and least messy art project I’ve found is mural painting with kids.
What is so great about mural painting with kids is that it’s super flexible, all you need is a large canvas (aka paper) and some paint. Add some paintbrushes or whatever other items you have around the house for applying the paint (little hands work too!) and watch the mural happen!
Usually I just throw down a large piece of butcher paper or white rolled paper and let the kids take inspiration from their surroundings and paint whatever inspires them.
And other times we do a themed project like the fireworks mural painting we did for 4th of July.
Painting 4th of July fireworks. #4thofjuly #kidsart #summer
A photo posted by Melissa Roy (@beyondmommying) on
If you want to do a more authentic, in-depth mural painting with kids, though, here’s a few ideas:
Tape or hook the paper to a wall or fence to allow kids to practice working upright rather than on a flat surface.
Have the kids plan their mural by sketching it on printer paper first to get an idea of what they want to create.
Using the original plan, have the kids scale up their idea and sketch on the larger paper.
With older kids, talk about creating layered scenes and painting from the back forward.
Encourage kids to work together to create a cohesive piece using similar colors and brush strokes when working on different parts of the mural.
Their finished Under the Sea inspired Mural:
This post is part of the 2016 Paint-A-Thon hosted by Emma Owl where you can find more than 200 kids painting ideas by more than 50 bloggers!
Pin it!
Get the supplies for making a mural painting with kids:
Note: Below are affiliate links meaning if you click and make a purchase, Beyond Mommying may receive a small commission which is used for the upkeep of the website.
[…] Easy Mural Painting // Beyond Mommying, we love big art! Murals are the perfect way to paint wonderful things large scale – this one is fantastic! […]
I love this idea! Definitely going to try something like this.
BIG ART! We love!
Thanks for hosting the Paint-A-Thon, Julie! It was so much fun to be a part of and there are so many other great projects out there to add to my kids crafts to-do list.
[…] Mural Painting // Beyond Mommying […]