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My 3 year old loves anything to do with messy play, using paint and drawing. He also loves the intricate loops of spirals and will often draw these while doodling on paper. I had a brain wave the other day to combine his love for spirals and some paint, this is what happened! He couldn’t resist this Crayon Resist Spiral Art activity!
Crayon Resist Spiral Art
This is another of those oh so simple art activities yet feels like magic. You will need some paper (A3 used here), a white wax crayon and water colors with a paint brush.
My 3-year-old was not interested in drawing these spirals himself and I don’t blame him as it looked like I was drawing nothing from his point of view. White crayons appear clear on white paper. I had to angle the paper in the light even for me to see what I had drawn!
These rainbow stick puzzles are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers!
Once done, offer your child the paper to paint on and watch his amazement at the spirals pop out as he paints!
Encourage different color use or leave your child with his imagination!
This is an incredible time to help your child explore color mixing as well.
Mine even went into finger painting mode. This is helpful for strengthening hand muscles that are critical for future skills including tying shoes and zipping up a zipper. Both painting with a paintbrush as well as finger painting are excellent prewriting activities as well!
You may also enjoy this Stained Glass Art painting activity.
I also made my 4 year old a little park scene to paint but he was just not into it. My 19-month-old painted a little scene too but that didn’t last very long as she was more interested in crumpling the paper. 🙂
But I do so love that each of my children enjoys doing a variety of activities and in their own way. By doing an activity for each specifically I expose the other to it as well and give them the opportunity to explore it while encouraging the child that loves that type of activity.
STEAM Magic
Often times when something seems magic to my kids, it’s because science is involved. Yes, this is an art activity but there is absolutely science involved. It is as simple as the concept of oil and water. Oil and water do not mix. When you begin with a wax crayon (oil) the water (with the watercolor paints) won’t mix with the wax. This is what creates the beautiful crayon resist look of this project!
robin f says
I used to do something similar with paper plates ob a rainy day. We called them blooming trees! Draw the trunk with a crayon and the tree and flowers in watercolor markers, and then place out in the rain for a minute if drzzling and a few seconds if its pouring. The kids always loved it and still remember the fun we had.
Kristina @ School Time Snippets says
Love crayon resist projects and the spirals are so very cool! Neat idea!
Christy Garrett @ Uplifting Families says
That is a cool trick, thank you for sharing. We might have to try this activity.