Salad Spinner Painting

A salad spinner can do more than just toss your greens—it's a great tool to use when painting with your preschooler! In this activity, use a salad spinner to create cool designs with paint and paper. This kind of painting is easy to do and can put a new "spin" on your child's old art routine.

Just be sure to have soapy water in a bucket ready for quick hand washing-- this project can be messy!

What You Need:

• Plastic salad spinner with lid
• Liquid tempera paints in cups
• Spoons for each paint color
• Paper
• Optional: Glitter or confetti

What You Do:

1. Be sure to lay down newspaper on the painting surface. You should also prepare a drying area such as some newspaper on the floor near the project.
2. Cut paper to fit into the bottom of the salad spinner.
3. Place paper in the spinner.
4. Drip paint onto the paper with the spoon. Use more than one color if desired.
5. Snap the lid on the spinner and spin with the handle. Younger children may need help spinning.
6. Open and add glitter or confetti as desired.

When the paint dries, your child will have a salad-spinner masterpiece! For variation, think of other spinning paint ideas, such as an old record player or a lazy Susan. Experiment with paint, felt pens, and crayons for different effects.