Painting With String

• Wrap a piece of string or twine around a small wooden block. Then pour a small amount of paint into a low flat tray or dish. Lay out a piece of poster board. Have the child carefully dip the wrapped block in the paint, and then press it to the poster board. Let them use this up and down press method to block out a design.
  
  

Painting With Marbles

• Put several dabs of paint (of different colors) at the bottom end of a pan or tray that has very deep sides. Put some poster board at the bottom and throw in a marble. Now let the child roll the tray back and forth. Doing this, they can roll the marble through one spot of paint and over the paper, and then over another and so on. In the process, they are creating a unique design.
  
  

Painting With Fingers

• Of course, this will always be a kids' favorite, since there is nothing they like more than a mess. Plus, they like the tactile fun of painting this way. But you can make the mess a little less so by taking precautions. If possible, do this one outside, perhaps using an old folding table you no longer need. If you have to reuse the table, then securely tape a large plastic tarp all the way around it. Then just dump the paint and the paper on the table and have at it.