The JumpStart Blog

Henry Ward Beecher once said, “Every artist dips his brush into his own soul and paints his own nature on it.” Mr. Beecher made a great point – art comes from self-expression. And no one is better at expressing himself than your toddler (unfortunately that can often involve screaming at the top of his lungs!). That is why art projects are a wonderful creative outlet for your little one. So we offer you a fabulous painting project to help your child sponge their way to beautiful, unrestrained self-expression. And who knows? Maybe you have the next Picasso living under your roof!

A little encouragement and artistic cultivation can accomplish a lot for your child’s self-esteem and artistic inclinations!  Giving your child the ability to make choices about their art is very important to developing interest in fine art – plus, it simply boosts their confidence.  Here is a unique way to have a little fun with the sponge and allow your child endless artistic freedom!

Your child can create sponge art like this!

What you will need:

• One sponge
• Solid colored paper
• Scissors
• Paper plate
• Paint
• Acrylic paint

How to sponge out your art:

1. Cut the sponge into several pieces. Make sure that they are all different sizes and shapes. If necessary, you can use two sponges.
2. Make little puddles of paint on the paper plate to represent your palette. Don’t be afraid to mix the colors to make new ones!
3. Now, have your child dip the sponges in the color of their choice and dab lightly on the blank paper. Once they get a good feeling of the texture and design that each sponge makes, they can create anything they want.

Step 1: Make your sponge pieces

Step 2: Assemble your palette

Step 3: Sponge away!

Letting them have the choice of shapes and sizes to create something on a piece of blank paper will put their creativity and imagination to the test. By allowing your child to experiment with layering of multiple colors and sizes, you will truly see their inner Claude Monet begin to emerge! OK, well maybe not anything as extreme as Monet, but you’ll definitely see your child’s true creativity at its finest!  And who knows? Maybe in time, they will be the next Monet!

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