Christmas sensory painting with pine boughs is an process based art activity for preschoolers that appeals to more than one sense. While painting with pine boughs, my preschoolers explored Christmas through their sense of sight, hearing, touch, and smell.
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It’s so fun to teach preschool around Christmas time because there are so many creative activities associated with the holiday. Preschoolers learn so much by exploring materials and processes through their senses, so painting with pine boughs was the perfect Christmas sensory activity to kick off the month.
Materials
The following materials are affiliate links.
- Non-Toxic Washable Tempera Paint
- Easel Paper
- pine boughs
The how-to
Christmas sensory painting with pine boughs is a simple activity, but so full of learning! Choose a few colors of paint to squeeze out onto a paper plate. You want to paint to be spread around a bit, so squirt it in a big circle. Make sure you put out a lot, probably slightly more than you would think. This will make it easier for the children to use the paint with their pine boughs.
Now, invite your child to use the pine bough as a paintbrush. Or, as a material for printmaking.
As my preschoolers worked, they used several of their five senses to experience this activity. They heard the scratching of the pine boughs on the paper as they painted, as well as felt the prickly nature of the boughs as they handled them. The children also made comments about what kinds of designs they were seeing in their painting, or how they weer mixing the colors together. And this student’s favorite part of Christmas sensory painting…the smell of the pine boughs.
Some students filled their entire paper with brightly colored paint, while others minimally painted their papers allowing the distinct prints of the pine boughs to show through. Some students heavily layered the paint, while others spread it around making areas of light and dark. The designs were beautifully textured and Corinne and Kent’s are dry and having in the hallway of our home.
Books we read in support of this activity
Enjoy!
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I am Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home mama of five! I am the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught range of levels, including preschool and college, and a little bit of just about everything in between. Right now, my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction
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