A Ticket To Thrive from Paint Misbehavin’
Welcome to our #TicketToThrive campaign. We believe wholeheartedly that doing something creative with your child will benefit you both. We’ve asked some other people who believe in the power of creativity to talk a little about a benefit they have seen when families get creative, and to suggest a simple activity that you can do at home. Today, we hear from Christina, founder of Paint Misbehavin’.
Tell us about Paint Misbehavin’: Paint Misbehavin’ is a creative art-focused messy play class for little ones. It was inspired by my son. He is 14 months old and loves nothing more than getting messy. I’m an art teacher so love to do loads of art activities with him. We do lots at home, but I wanted to take him to an art class suitable for his age group too. We go to loads of music and movement groups but there didn’t seem to be a regular art group near me. So I decided to set up my own. He loves messy play so I used that as my starting point but have made sure that all the actives link to exploring art materials, colour, shape etc.
Each class will have a range of different materials to explore. Think of diving into shredded paper, making hand and food prints, mixing colours with rainbow foam, painting on real artists canvas, building and taking apart 3D structures and weaving fabric. It is set up as a free play space so the kids can choose what to interact with and how they do it. Parents play along with their children so it is great for bonding. I know that some people don’t feel super confident with creative activities so we will have Play Prompts by each station to help spark ideas.
Ticket To Thrive is all about encouraging families to do something creative together. What will families and children gain from coming to your classes? Apart from being loads of fun, our classes are great for developing creativity, building hand-eye coordination and gaining confidence. One of the things I found most heartbreaking as an art teacher was children coming into my classes on the first day of school, telling me that they were “no good at art”. It’s so sad and I’ve heard it across both primary and secondary. All children have an innate creativity and it is so important that it is nurtured as they grow up so they don’t loose confidence in their ability. The benefits of art-making are so important — it builds resilience, it teaches children to focus, to collaborate — all such important life skills.
As well as all these benefits, engaging in these kind of activities with your child is such a lovely way to bond with your child. It’s something that you can enjoy doing together. It’s a time to put down your phone (apart from maybe taking a couple of cute photos) and be present in the moment of a lovely shared experience.
How can families get some of those same benefits at home? Using a few basic kitchen ingredients I make a really fun, super safe, edible baby paint. It’s so quick and simple to make and my little one has the best time playing with it. All you need to make this paint is:
- Corn flour (or corn starch)
- Water
- Food colouring
This paint is perfect for babies from 6 months old or for toddlers who are likely to put paint covered fingers in their mouths. The corn flour is totally safe to eat but it is not particularly tasty so shouldn’t be too tempting. Whilst it doesn’t have quite the same quality as regular paint (its a bit more gloopy, like custard), it it perfect for some messy, sensory play. It is also really easy to clean up.
It is so easy to make, it takes about 5 minutes:
- In a saucepan, mix 4 tbsp on corn flour with an equal amount of cold water until it forms a paste.
- Pour in about a mug full of boiling water and stir continuously smoothing out any lumps.
- Put the pan on a medium heat and keep stirring. After about 30 seconds — 1 minuite you will see some clear streaks forming in the mixture. At this point turn off the heat but keep staring — it will start to thicken. If it gets to thick add a little bit more boiling water and keep staring. I normally end up adding about another half a mug full of boiling water to get it to the correct custardy consistency.
- Divide the mixture into pots or jars (I use old takeaway containers).
- Add food colouring to each of the pots. Start with a couple of drops and stir it in, then add more if needed to get to the desired shade.
- The paint can be stored in in the fridge for about 1–2 weeks. It does solidify and separate in the fridge but can be revived with a bit of boiling water and a good stir.
My top tip for painting with kids — it’s very tempting to give children the three primary colours (red, blue and yellow) as from these you can make every other colour. However when these three are mixed together they become a very ugly sludgy brown. So I tend to offer a couple of colours that mix together nicely i.e blue and yellow will make shades of green, red and yellow will make shades of orange. This makes kids artwork look so much better!
It’s so important for babies to have the opportunity to get messy, explore materials and create something. While finger painting might seem like a simple activity a baby will be learning so much! It’s great for teaching about cause and effect, for developing fine motor skills, for their tactile sensory development and as the start of their self expression. Often we think that artistic talent is intrinsic in some and others just don’t have it. In fact, all children are born with a natural curiosity and creative energy. I want my little one to grow up feeling comfortable and confident in creating artwork and I think this is the perfect way to start.
Paint Misbehavin’ is a new art-focused messy play class for babies and toddlers (6 months — 5 years). It was set up, and will be run by, Christina Rose Brown, an art teacher and mum from London. Christina has experience working across EYFS, Primary, Secondary and Further education. She has an MA in Art and Design in Education from The Institute of Education, UCL. Paint Misbehavin' will be launching on Thursday 19th September 2019 at the Guides Hall at Coram’s Fields, Guilford St, London WC1N 1DN. The class will be at 10am and running every other Thursday and cost £6.50. Available to book now on Hoop. For more information and to keep up to date with their launch, please follow them on Instagram and Facebook. We have one free ticket to their launch event on the 19th September to giveaway. Please go to Let’s Play London’s social media accounts (see links below) for more information and to enter.
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