‘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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
And it makes them better writers, too, since squeezing the glue bottles strengthens their hand muscles.
Finally, sprinkle some Epsom salt over the glue.
Epsom salts have a larger crystal than regular table salt or even kosher salt.
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 beautiul they turned out!
Looking for more winter themed activities?
Here are some other well-loved, tried and true winter themes activities your preschoolers are sure to love!
Topographic Melting Snowman Craft
Fluffy Paper Plate Snowman Craft
8 Arctic Themed Preschool Activities
Winter Theme Preschool Lesson Plans
Join our community!
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
Leslie G says
December 23, 2015 at 1:25 pmThank 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 pmI’m so glad they enjoyed it, and how creative to use feathers!
Kelly VanNess says
January 24, 2016 at 3:55 pmI’m curious if this would work on canvas?
Sarah Punkoney says
January 24, 2016 at 7:04 pmI’m certain it would, however you would want to use a high quality tempera paint or acryllic paint.
Barb Dunning says
February 9, 2016 at 11:45 amAlways 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 pmThat’s just one of the reasons I love those paintings!
Emma says
March 1, 2016 at 7:55 pmThese are just so beautiful! I can’t wait to give them a try!
Carmel says
November 17, 2017 at 7:22 amI 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 amWow! 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 pmSame 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.
vstein says
December 7, 2017 at 11:14 amDO 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 pmI 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 pmBut 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 pmThey can, but my students didn’t. If the paint is still a little wet, the salt will stick anyway.
Elaine says
December 30, 2017 at 3:40 pmDo you shake off the excess Epsom salt? If so …when?
Sarah Punkoney says
January 2, 2018 at 12:38 pmAfter the glue and paint dries, you can shake off the excess salt.
Amy Turner says
February 17, 2018 at 10:37 amHow 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 amYou 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.
Tiffany says
November 26, 2018 at 1:25 pmWas wondering if I could use something other than epsom salt?
Sarah Punkoney, MAT says
December 13, 2018 at 2:54 pmSure thing. Any kind of salt will work. And of course, glitter would be pretty, too!