Colorful Fall Calico Corn Salt Painting for Kids
As the days grow cooler and the trees put on their colorful display, it’s the perfect time to bring a bit of that autumn magic indoors with a fun art project for the kids. The fall calico corn salt painting activity is a wonderful way to celebrate the season while letting the little ones explore their creativity. This project uses simple materials like salt and paint to create beautiful, textured artwork inspired by the vibrant colors of fall corn. It’s an engaging and educational activity that’s sure to bring a smile to your child’s face and brighten up your fall days.
Recommended Grade Level:
Calico Corn Salt Painting Supplies:
- Lined Drawing of Corn
- Liquid Glue
- Table Salt
- Watercolor Paints
- Paintbrush
- Water
Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and think about all the sights, smells, and sounds of my favorite season: FALL. Nature transforms into brilliant colors all on its own; pumpkins, apples, squash, and corn are done with summer’s heat and ready for us to enjoy.
This calico corn salt painting activity is simple to prep and packs a lot of learning into one project. You’re going to love getting creative and scientific at the same time. Explore salt painting all year long with our collection of salt painting activities for kids.
Learning About Watercolor Calico Corn Salt Painting:
Salt painting features its own type of magic, as the color travels the line of glue and salt. We can use this fall preschool activity to teach about the science behind that magic.
Introducing lots of different art mediums is an integral part of early childhood development. Children learn and grow by working with paper, scissors, paint, watercolor, glue, glitter, and more.
Salt painting produces a textured finished product, but it also begs some important questions:
- Why is the color “moving” along the glue line?
- What happens when colors mix?
- Do you use salt for anything else?
Depending on the age range of your students, choose a line drawing that is not overly complicated. The more simple and thick the lines are, the more likely they will be able to trace them to produce a recognizable shape in the end.
Salt and glue painting fits into any theme. All you need to do is choose the appropriate drawing.
In addition to learning about the fall harvest, you might also explore:
- What is the life cycle of corn?
- What other fruits and vegetables are harvested in fall?
- Why do leaves change color in the fall?
- What changes do you see in the weather in fall?
What Is the Science Behind Salt Painting?
This is the simple explanation, including some important vocabulary words your students will LOVE learning:
Salt is HYGROSCOPIC, meaning it absorbs both water and water vapor.
Explaining the Science of Salt Painting to Kids
Let’s get our little artists excited about how colors dance along the salt and glue during our salt painting fun!
- Use Simple Language: Explain that salt is like tiny crystals that can soak up colors, making the painting come alive.
- Incorporate Fun Comparisons: Compare the salt to a sponge that drinks up the paint, which can help children visualize how the colors move and blend.
Here’s an easy and playful way to explain it, using some cool words they will love:
You can say, ‘Hey friends, did you know that salt is just like a sponge? It loves to soak up all the water and color! When you touch your wet paintbrush to the salt line, it drinks up the water super fast! It’s like magic!’
You can also encourage them to notice how the colors spread when they use different amounts of salt. You might say, ‘Look! If we sprinkle more salt, the colors might spread out differently! Isn’t that fun to see?’
And here’s another cool thing: the salt drinks up the water in our glue too, which helps it dry into those nice, strong lines that we see in our artwork
Why Is It Important For Kids To Learn How to Paint with Salt?
Aside from the fact that kids’ crafts are good old-fashioned FUN, salt painting offers a few other benefits young learners can add to their bank of skills and knowledge.
Develop a Child’s Creativity
Arts and crafts projects are a wonderful way to allow your child to show off their creative side.
Fine Motor Skills
Squeezing intricate glue lines, sprinkling salt, and dipping into watercolors are awesome for strengthening fine motor skills.
Hand-eye Coordination
Activities like tracing lines with glue and sprinkling salt help improve hand/eye coordination.
Calming Space
Art activities can provide a safe space for children who are feeling upset or frustrated and need to calm down.
Materials for the Calico Corn Salt Painting Project
Step by Step Instructions for the Calico Corn Raised Salt Painting
Step 1: First, print the calico corn template on cardstock. Cardstock works better than printer paper due to the amount of liquid in the glue and paint.
Step 2: Trace around the image on the coloring page with glue.
Step 3: Sprinkle salt onto the glue to fill the page, ensuring that all the glue is covered with the salt. Tap the paper to settle the salt into any grooves.
Step 4: Gently lift the paper and shake to remove the excess salt onto a craft tray. You can reuse the excess salt to create more salt painting projects.
Step 5: Dip paintbrush in water and blend with watercolor to soften. Saturate the paintbrush with watercolor. Then, gently touch the paintbrush to the salt. The color will spread.
Step 6: Allow the calico corn salt painting for kids to dry completely before displaying or gifting.
This fun calico corn salt painting art project won’t disappoint, even if the glue lines are a bit messy. It’s a wonderful learning activity for kids to explore color, absorption, and more!
Children will also enjoy feeling the unique texture of their project after it dries.
Extend the Calico Corn Salt Painting Activity:
Food Coloring: If you don’t have liquid watercolors handy, create your own. Just add a drop or two of food coloring to a cup of water. You can see how we did this with our Rainbow Salt Painting Activity.
Try Sugar: Turn this process art activity into a science experiment by substituting sugar for salt, or alter the type of salt used.
Get Scientific: Investigate the “magic” of watercolor painting using salt by asking why and how the salt absorbs the color.
How do I clean up after the Calico Corn Salt Painting activity?
Assign Roles: Designate cleanup roles to students, such as trash collector, supply organizer, and surface cleaner, to promote teamwork and efficiency.
Set a Timer: Use a timer to create a sense of urgency, encouraging students to clean up quickly and effectively before moving on to the next activity.
Provide Clear Instructions: Give simple, step-by-step cleanup instructions to avoid confusion and ensure all areas are addressed.
Incorporate Cleanup into Routine: Make cleanup a regular part of the art activity, teaching students the importance of maintaining a tidy workspace and responsibility for their environment.
More Fall Activities You’ll Love:
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