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Sparkly Winter Paintings Make Gorgeous Winter Process Art

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may earn a small sum if you click through and make a purchase.

January 20, 2015 by Sarah Punkoney, MAT

‘Tis the season for winter themes in preschool, and these winter paintings are perfect for young toddlers as well as preschoolers. This is winter process art at its best.

With no specific outcome intended, these winter beauties still make wonderfully sparkly keepsakes. (We’ve also made some similar Christmas process art, too).

Sparkly Winter Process Art for Preschoolers - Process art is more about the process than the product, but this winter process art project for kids gives gorgeous results along with hand strengthening exercises - it's a win-win! This glitter free winter art project is great for all ages!

How to Make Sparkly Winter Process Art with Kids

Ok, aren’t these paintings beautiful? They sparkle! (Because of my “secret” ingredient). And for being wintery process art done by preschoolers, they have a wonderful amount of depth that draws the viewer in. We kinda’ made our own little art gallery when we displayed these winter paintings in preschool.

I am always impressed by how unique each art piece is when the focus is process over product. This is not to say there is no place for crafts in preschool (I have posted about several), but admittedly there is something extra special about process art.

With winter being the theme here, my preschoolers told the most intriguing stories as I asked them to share their paintings with me.

It’s important to understand that even in these seemingly simple paintings, important decisions were made. Important processes were explored. And important experiments were conducted.

Materials for Sparkly Winter Process Art Paintings

The supplies below are affiliate links.

  • washable tempera paint, paint brushes, and paint palettes
  • thick art paper
  • Epsom salt
  • washable white liquid school glue

The process behind this winter process art

Begin by dolling out a few dollops of paint to each child. Because we had been studying all things winter in preschool, my students chose blue and white paint. I invited the students to begin painting, allowing them to mix the white and blue paint as they wanted on their paper.

Sparkly Winter Process Art for Preschoolers - Process art is more about the process than the product, but this winter process art project for kids gives gorgeous results along with hand strengthening exercises - it's a win-win! This winter art project is great for all ages!

This student made “swirls of snowflakes” like we had read about in a few books. I just love the selection of wintry children’s books available. We read so many and they extended our play and learning by miles! In fact, here are the books we read to support our learning of snow.


Let’s just say that in preschool we read a lot of books. I mean, a lot. And the best part is that those books always work their way into activities like this one.

Before the paint has a chance to dry completely, squirt on some white liquid school glue. Squeezing on the glue while the paint is still wet will cause it to react a bit with the paint as it dries, changing the blue paint under the glue to a purple hue.

Sparkly Winter Process Art for Preschoolers - Process art is more about the process than the product, but this winter process art project for kids gives gorgeous results along with hand strengthening exercises - it's a win-win! This winter art project is great for all ages!

The students love this step! Because how often do children have the opportunity to just squeeze out ooey, gooey glue? Usually, we say rhymes like, “Just a dot, not a lot”, but that’s not needed here. You want your preschoolers to squeeze hard and use a lot of glue. This is also what we did for our Christmas process art canvases.

And it makes them better writers, too, since squeezing the glue bottles strengthens their hand muscles.

Finally, sprinkle some Epsom salt over the glue.

Sparkly Winter Process Art for Preschoolers - Process art is more about the process than the product, but this winter process art project for kids gives gorgeous results along with hand strengthening exercises - it's a win-win! This winter art project is great for all ages!

Epsom salts have a larger crystal than regular table salt or even kosher salt.

Epson salts - Stay At Home Educator

Why Epsom salts?

The larger crystals make the salt look just like course glitter, but without the clingy mess. You know how glitter clings to everything it touches. Well, Epsom salt won’t do that, so any mess that works its way outside the tray can easily be swept  up. That being said, Epsom salt is NOT edible (not the same as table salt), so like glitter, make sure no one gets a taste.

The best part of winter process art projects like this one is that, with the right supervision, it is suitable for all ages. Even my barely toddler, with me by his side supervising him, completed his very own sparkly winter art piece. On the flip side, this is just the kind of art my 8-year-old would be into as well.

I love it when everyone gets to participate, and look how beautiful they turned out!

Sparkly Winter Process Art for Preschoolers - Process art is more about the process than the product, but this winter process art project for kids gives gorgeous results along with hand strengthening exercises - it's a win-win! This glitter free winter art project is great for all ages!

Looking for more winter themed activities?

Here are some other well-loved, tried and true winter themes activities your preschoolers are sure to love!

Winter Cookie Cutter Art

Snowflake Invitation to Play

Topographic Melting Snowman Craft

Fluffy Paper Plate Snowman Craft

Arctic Animal Matching

8 Arctic Themed Preschool Activities

Winter Theme Preschool Lesson Plans

Sarah Punkoney, MAT

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

stayathomeeducator.com/

You might also enjoy:

Winter Cookie Cutter Art Fluffy Paper Plate Snowman Craft Topographic Melting Snowman Craft Color Theory For Preschoolers – Part I

Filed Under: Play, Thematic Activities Tagged With: Process Art and Crafts, Snow and Winter

« Gelatin Squish Bags – an Edible Sensory Bag for Babies
Partner Pieces – a Length and Color Matching Measurement Activity »

Comments

  1. Leslie G says

    December 23, 2015 at 1:25 pm

    Thank you for this wonderful project. We used feathers to paint instead of paintbrushes. My pre-kinders had so much fun.

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      December 23, 2015 at 2:23 pm

      I’m so glad they enjoyed it, and how creative to use feathers!

  2. Kelly VanNess says

    January 24, 2016 at 3:55 pm

    I’m curious if this would work on canvas?

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      January 24, 2016 at 7:04 pm

      I’m certain it would, however you would want to use a high quality tempera paint or acryllic paint.

  3. Barb Dunning says

    February 9, 2016 at 11:45 am

    Always looking for simple but creative craft ideas for my charges. As a nanny it is hard to find things that a 2 year old and 5 year old can do together. The epson salt paintings were great. Thanks for the idea.

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      February 9, 2016 at 3:58 pm

      That’s just one of the reasons I love those paintings!

    • Melanie Lane says

      December 8, 2019 at 5:15 am

      Can acrylic paint be used? Instead of the tempura paint.

      • Sarah Punkoney, MAT says

        April 1, 2020 at 4:23 pm

        You can use acrylic paint. In fact, it might even turn out a little better because acrylic is thicker and doesn’t blend as easily. BUT, acrylic paint is not washable. So if you use it with your preschoolers, make sure they are wearing smocks.

  4. Emma says

    March 1, 2016 at 7:55 pm

    These are just so beautiful! I can’t wait to give them a try!

  5. Carmel says

    November 17, 2017 at 7:22 am

    I tried this today with my preschoolers. Not sure what went wrong but the Epsom salt melted all over the glue and created water all over the pages.
    Very disappointing result. Not sure where we went wrong tough…!!!

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      November 21, 2017 at 10:58 am

      Wow! I’m so sorry that happened. I have used various salts with glue before and never had the happen! Maybe we used different glues?

    • Bridget says

      December 4, 2017 at 1:57 pm

      Same results here. I’m thinking maybe letting the paint dry a little before applying glue and doing the same with the glue before applying the salt.

  6. vstein says

    December 7, 2017 at 11:14 am

    DO you spread the glue for this project or just let the kiddos pour it on and then sprinkle salt.

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      December 7, 2017 at 8:25 pm

      I let the kiddies squeeze it on themselves. Squeezing is so good for children because it strengthens their hand muscles. BUT, do be prepared for the children to use a lot of glue!

      • Lynn H Friesen-Davis says

        December 13, 2017 at 8:49 pm

        But do the children SPREAD the glue with a brush after they squeeze it from the bottle?

        • Sarah Punkoney says

          December 14, 2017 at 3:41 pm

          They can, but my students didn’t. If the paint is still a little wet, the salt will stick anyway.

  7. Elaine says

    December 30, 2017 at 3:40 pm

    Do you shake off the excess Epsom salt? If so …when?

    • Sarah Punkoney says

      January 2, 2018 at 12:38 pm

      After the glue and paint dries, you can shake off the excess salt.

  8. Amy Turner says

    February 17, 2018 at 10:37 am

    How long does it take for the colors to react to the glue? Our paintings are drying and no color change (purple) so far. We used washable tempera paint and washable Emler’s School glue

    • Sarah Punkoney, MAT says

      February 22, 2018 at 9:47 am

      You know, I think it might be related to the brand, as I have had a few people mention the lack of color change. I use Colorations brand, available on Amazon and Discount School Supply. I’m thinking that the colors reacting with the glue has to do what the make-up of that specific tempera paint.

      • Molly Pregon says

        January 8, 2020 at 2:02 pm

        From looking at the blue paints you used one is a darker blue that may in fact have a little red in it…almost a very dark purple. Only a paint that had some red and blue in it would make the light purple when mixed with white glue. A true only blue paint would only make light blue! Hope that helps!

  9. Tiffany says

    November 26, 2018 at 1:25 pm

    Was wondering if I could use something other than epsom salt?

    • Sarah Punkoney, MAT says

      December 13, 2018 at 2:54 pm

      Sure thing. Any kind of salt will work. And of course, glitter would be pretty, too!

  10. gina says

    February 3, 2020 at 12:07 pm

    How long should you let the paint dry before putting on glue?
    How long should the glue dry before putting on the epsom salt?
    Winter process art snowflake project

    • Sarah Punkoney, MAT says

      February 3, 2020 at 1:50 pm

      How long you wait for everything to dry is up to you. I find that is the paint is a little wet the glue reacts a bit and makes the paint bleed into a purple, which is fine with me. But, the downside is that the epsom salt can sometimes stick to the paint. I wouldn’t let the glue dry at all before sprinkling the lines with the epsom salts. But reallym since this is process art, you can do this however you please!

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