Sparkly Winter Process Art for Preschoolers

With the onset of the frosty season, preschools are brimming with activities inspired by winter. And what could be a more fitting than indulging in winter process art activities? These easy winter paintings are always included in our winter themed preschool lesson plans.

While these paintings may be fully process based, they consistently produce stunningly sparkly keepsakes for parents and grandparents. All you need are some tempura paints, liquid glue, and Epsom salt to make they sparkle like frost. Add this to your list of favorite preschool process art activities.

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!
Kids will love this salt painting activity. Be sure to pin this post so you can add this easy winter activity to your preschool winter theme.

One of the prominent highlights of this time is the inclusion of winter process art activities. These simple yet creative winter paintings are an integral part of our seasonal preschool curriculum, designed to engage young learners in the fun and spirit of winter.

These winter paintings are for kids of all ages, but especially appropriate for preschoolers and toddlers. While being entirely process-oriented, they never fail to yield beautifully shimmering keepsakes that parents and grandparents treasure.

Other favorite kids-made Christmas gifts include our Sparkly Christmas Process Art and Winter Art Project for Preschoolers.

The key materials needed to create these frosty masterpieces are tempera paints, liquid glue, and Epsom salt. When combined, these elements produce a sparkling frost-like effect, turning each painting into a dazzling spectacle of winter magic.

Why Winter Art for Preschooler and Toddlers

Epsom salt painting activities are an absolute blast for toddlers and preschoolers, and guess what? They’re packed with a ton of benefits too!

These fun-filled projects light up the creative spark in little ones as they discover the magic of salt crystals transforming their artwork. Plus, it’s a great workout for those tiny hands, helping to develop fine motor skills as they play with brushes and mix paint and salt.

But that’s not all – it’s also a sneaky science lesson, introducing cool concepts crystallization and light reflection. Painting also provides sensory input for children, too.

But the best part?

The stunning frost-like pictures they create! They look just like a cold, frosty morning in the winter.

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Epsom Salt Winter Process Art Paintings

Who knew winter process art could create beautiful, frost-like pictures that perfectly capture the essence of a cold, frosty winter morning!?

Materials

The Set Up

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 Paintings for Preschoolers

This student made “swirls of snowflakes” inspired by some books about snowflakes we had read during our winter preschool theme.

My preschoolers swirled and spun and twisted their paintbrushes making a blue-gray background, just like the way the sky looks on a snowy day.

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!
Begin by mixing the blue and white paint on the paper, making a swirling background for the snowy sky.

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!
Squirt on some liquid glue before the paint dries completely.

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”, like in this back-to-school worksheet that teaches glue control, but that’s not needed here. We want trails of glue all over the paper!

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.

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 larger crystals of the Epsom salt makes these winter slat paintings really pop!

Why Epsom salts?

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

The larger crystals make the salt look just like course glitter, but without the clingy mess. (And it’s better for the environment, too!) 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.

Winter Theme Picture Books

High-quality thematic picture books can significantly enhance any preschool activity by providing a rich, engaging context that sparks children’s curiosity and imagination.

These books can help to deepen kids’ understanding of the activity at hand, stir their creativity, and provide a meaningful connection between the real world and the concepts they are learning.

Bestseller No. 1
Curious About Snow (Smithsonian)
  • Shaw, Gina (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 32 Pages – 01/05/2016 (Publication Date) – Grosset & Dunlap (Publisher)
SaleBestseller No. 2
The Biggest Snowman Ever
  • THE BIGGEST SNOWMAN EVER
  • STEVEN KROLL
  • CHILDREN’S BOOKS
SaleBestseller No. 3
The Snow Thief (A Squirrel & Bird Book)
  • Hardcover Book
  • Hemming, Alice (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
SaleBestseller No. 4
Sneezy the Snowman
  • Wright, Maureen (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 34 Pages – 10/08/2013 (Publication Date) – Two Lions (Publisher)
SaleBestseller No. 5
Snow Birds: A Picture Book
  • Hardcover Book
  • Hall, Kirsten (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
SaleBestseller No. 6
Snow: (Caldecott Honor Book) (Sunburst Books)
  • Shulevitz, Uri (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 32 Pages – 10/06/2004 (Publication Date) – Square Fish (Publisher)
Bestseller No. 7
Snow!: A My Incredible World Picture Book for…
  • Aicher, Hope (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 24 Pages – 11/13/2023 (Publication Date) – Independently published (Publisher)
SaleBestseller No. 8
The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder
  • Cassino, Mark (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 36 Pages – 09/05/2017 (Publication Date) – Chronicle Books (Publisher)

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

winter paintings for preschoolers using epsom salts

More Winter Art Projects for Preschoolers

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

winter process art for preschoolers

Sparkly Winter Process Art for Preschoolers

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Difficulty: easy

During winter, there is nothing quite as magical as a sparkly blanket of fresh snow.

Your preschoolers can create their own beautiful snowy masterpiece with this preschool process art activity.

I always include several winter process art activities during the cold months.

They are the perfect indoor activity and help keep kiddos excited about the chilly winter months.

This particular activity requires a few basic materials and is easy, fun and magical!

Materials

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

Instructions

  1. Prepare all the materials in your art space ahead of time, so your preschoolers can jump right in when you invite them to start.
  2. Begin by dolling out a few dollops of paint to each child. I use white and blue paint for this activity.
  3.  Invite the students to begin painting, allowing them to mix the white and blue paint as they desire.
  4. Encourage your children to swirl, twist, and spin their paintbrushes making a blue-gray background (will resemble a snowy sky).
  5. Before the paint has a chance to dry completely, squirt on some white liquid school glue. (Doing this 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.)
  6. Encourage your preschoolers to squeeze hard and use a lot of glue. They typically LOVE this step, since they are taught to "go easy on the glue".
  7. Finally, sprinkle some Epsom salt generously over the glue.
  8. That's it! It's time to marvel at the beautiful sparkly winter wonderland creations!

Notes

Epsom salt is NOT edible (not the same as table salt), so make sure your curious kiddos do not put it in their mouths!

45 Comments

  1. 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

    1. 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!

  2. 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

    1. 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.

      1. 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!

    1. 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!

  3. 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…!!!

    1. 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?

    2. 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.

  4. 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.

      1. 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.

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

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