Taste-Safe Paint Squeezy Bottle Painting

Here we have a great craft idea for your little ones to enjoy from My First Five Years Toddler.

What you need:

* A mixing bowl and large spoon

*  Empty squeezy bottles, such as washing up liquid bottles or ketchup bottles

* Small bowls or plastic containers and a teaspoon

* A large sheet of paper (perhaps an old roll of wall paper) or a wide tray

For the paint:

* 250ml of corn flour

* 250ml of cold water

* 750ml of hot water

* Food colouring – natural varieties are available

The steps:

* Encourage your toddler to help you to mix the cornflour with cold water in the mixing bowl to form a paste.

* Carefully add the hot water to the paste and stir.

* Divide up the mixture into the small bowls or plastic containers and add drops of a different food colour to each portion. Encourage your toddler to help choose the colours and to stir the food colouring into each mixture using the teaspoon.

* Allow your mixtures to cool and then spoon them into the empty squeezy bottles.

* Encourage your toddler to use both hands to squeeze the bottles. Adjust the consistency of the paint by adding more water if your toddler finds it difficult to squeeze hard enough for the mixture to flow out.

* Let your toddler get creative, squeezing the paint onto the paper or into the tray.

Benefits for your toddler:

* Mixing the paint encourages bilateral coordination as your toddler holds the bowl with one hand whilst mixing with the other.

* Using both hands to squeeze the mixture out of the bottle develops strength in the palm arches and fingers, whilst also using larger muscles of the arm and shoulder to guide the paint around the paper or tray.

Building on:

* Try the same activity outside with a squeezy bottle filled with water.

Thank you to Dr Alistair Bryce-Clegg who is a renowned childcare expert and co-founder of My First Five Years, the popular parent support app, as well as an award-winning author and Early Childhood consultant for this wonderful craft activity, taken from his book  My First Five Years Toddler.