Have a young artist who loves stuffed animals? Try this stuffie painting art activity. It’s a fantastic quick and easy indoor activity for kids of all ages. Let your child paint portraits of their stuffies: they’ll love it.
What is “stuffie painting?”
Go with me here for a second: kids love their stuffed animals. These are their prized possessions, the loves of their tiny lives.
What better than to let them immortalize their love by painting portraits of them?
BUT, instead of asking kids to slog their way through trying to draw realistic pictures: trace the stuffies first.
This fun (and easy) art activity for kids is a really special one.
RELATED: Looking for more painting activities for kids? Check out this post with tons of ideas.
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The supplies
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- Any paper that will fit your stuffies (I used brown kraft paper)
- Washable paint: this is my favorite brand
- Paint brushes
- Black marker
Not a ton of supplies in this activity – in fact, these supplies are some of the only supplies I ever use. I have 15 supplies I use over and over again in my activities (you can see the list here).
Directions for the stuffie painting art activity
Talk about an easy activity to set up.
I rolled out paper and started by tracing my kids’ stuffed animals in pencil.
Please use pencil to trace the stuffies. You don’t want to accidentally get permanent marker on a stuffie.
I went back and traced over the outlines with markers for two reasons:
- It makes it easier for the kids to see.
- It makes it easier for you to see (hi from the fourth wall!).
What kids are learning when they paint stuffies?
What a great activity this is for kids! They have the chance to paint something they truly love. It’s a happy, sweet activity.
We never need to justify doing activities with kids because of learning. Play is learning. The joy and fun of this activity is proof of learning.
But it is fun to sometimes think about all that kids are learning in the midst of the play:
- Hand-strength: holding a brush is hard work
- Visual discrimination: being able to see difference in the stuffed animals
- Motor skills: painting on a large scale is hard work
- Independent skills: learning to work on their own
- Concentration skills: working to see a project through to completion
RELATED: Need some more indoor activities for kids? I have a whole list of fun, easy, and amazing ideas.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whenever you are ready and feel like they’re enjoy the experience AND it won’t become an all you can eat, non-toxic paint buffet. My best advice, though: try. Don’t wait. Give it a go on a small scale. This is like a food exposure. Little by little, let them grow and learn how to use paint.
Art provides children a dynamic way to express feelings, convey emotions, develop creativity, explore their imagination, build concentration skills, motor skills, and dexterity. Art can be messy with kids: but the benefits outweigh the need for a mid-day bath.
It’s ironic that washable paint doesn’t always feel super washable. If washable paint gets on your child’s clothing, try this: rinse it with warm water and apply hand soap. Rub the fabric against itself to activate the soap. Add a little more and soap, then let it sit for about 15 minutes. Rinse and repeat until the stain comes out before you ever toss it in the wash.
Susie Allison, M. Ed
Owner, Creator
Susie Allison is the creator of Busy Toddler and has more than 2 million followers on Instagram. A former teacher and early childhood education advocate, Susie’s parenting book “Busy Toddler’s Guide to Actual Parenting” is available on Amazon.
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