Easy Christmas Tree Salt Painting Activity

I love it when I can use one activity to cover many skills and this Christmas Tree Salt Painting activity does not disappoint. From science to fine motor to just having a blast creating art, there are so many skills that the kids won’t even realize they are learning. Once you finish creating this Christmas tree, you’ll want to check out our 10+ Salt Painting Activities for more inspiration!

Plus, if you have to justify adding art time in with your admins (still have no idea why all admins don’t see the immense value in art), here is a great list of skills that you’ll be covering. And if you need more documentation, check out this great article from the University of Florida discussing the importance of art education in the classroom.

Skills Covered with the Christmas Salt Painting Activity:

Fine Motor Skills: Think squeezing the glue bottle, holding the salt shaker, holding the paintbrush, and using hand-eye coordination to dip the paintbrush onto the canvas.

Science: An exploration of absorption, coloring mixing and you can even test different materials (types of paint or food coloring, types of salt or sugar)

Extend the Learning with these science and art activities:

• Painting with Gloop
• Color Mixing Bouncy Ball Process Art

Vocabulary: Have the kids practice their writing skills and label their pictures or write a message to gift the picture to a friend during the Christmas season.

Plus, grab this Christmas Tree CVC Word Building activity to build vocabulary and spelling skills during the Christmas season

Materials Needed for Christmas Tree Salt Painting

• Construction Paper
• White Glue
• Salt
• Food Coloring

Christmas Tree Salt Painting Instructions

Step 1:

Make the outline of a Christmas tree onto card stock paper with the white glue. I recommend using card stock paper, rather than construction paper, because the card stock paper is just thick enough to resist absorbing the water and bleeding through the paper.

Step 2:

Cover the entire Christmas tree in salt, like you would for glitter.

Step 3:

Shake off any excess salt from the paper and allow the glue to dry.

Waiting can be hard for kiddos, but you need to make sure the glue is dry before proceeding. Otherwise the paintbrush will drag through the wet glue and make a mess.

Make sure to grab our crazy fun Christmas I Spy Flip game to keep the kids distracted while they wait for the glue to dry.

Step 4:

Wet the paintbrush in water and blend with watercolor to soften. Saturate the brush with watercolor. Gently touch the paintbrush to the salt. The color will spread like magic! You can keep adding paint until the entire Christmas tree is covered in color.

Step 5:

Be careful to keep the tree flat, or the colors will run (particularly in the ornament dot section). Wait until the tree dries fully before sending it home with the kiddos (usually overnight).