Puff, the Magic Paint, not the Dragon !

I had a great Monday and Tuesday this week!! It's so fun when a week starts off like this one. I went to Griffin, Georgia to participate as a presenter at a preschool teachers training hosted by First Baptist of Griffin and Georgia Preschool Association ( remember my GPA a few posts back ??)! We had so much fun!! Lots of dedicated teachers of young children, a wonderful venue and hostess ( Thank you Ms. Diane), great presenters, a fun evening out with these ladies and I must mention the truly Southern lunch they served every single lady at the conference - gotta love homemade chicken salad, pimiento cheese finger sandwiches, broccoli salad, fesh fruit, cookies and tea served by delightful ladies in the church kitchen. 

You are wondering what this has to do with Puff?? One of the tips I offered up was this fun, fun "Puff Paint." I promised the ladies I'd get serious about posting the things I had at the conference. I have made this Puff Paint since College Girl was little so I cannot definitely say where the recipe came from but if I had to guess I'd say probably Family Fun a long time ago. It is so easy, so inexpensive and so much fun.

In a bowl mix equal parts of flour, salt and water. Then you simply add a squirt of washable liquid tempera paint. That's it. Whisk together so it's smooth and fill a squeeze bottle. They are 89 cents at my Wal Mart and on a good week I can find 2 packs at the dollar store. You want the clear kind so you can see what color is in each one.

You simply let the children "draw" with the liquid paint on blank white paper. Put the papers somewhere to dry and after a few hours you have very cool "puff" drawings. This is always a big hit.

You could do a fun color mixing lesson with this puff paint. Mix up a batch with the flour, salt and water but don't add the washable tempera paint. Line the squeeze bottles up and then you can make one blue, one red, and one yellow.

Then ask, what happens if we mix the blue and red? Demonstrate and then they will know... it's purple :)

You can continue with other combinations until you've mixed green and orange and more!!

Another great way to teach color mixing???... Give each child a sandwich size baggie. Then squeeze a dab of washable tempera in one corner... maybe yellow. In the opposite corner squeeze another color... blue. Zip the baggie closed - be sure it's definitely closed :)  - and then let the children manipualte the baggies until the two colors are mixed and the new color appears... GREEN !!

This is very fun and actually all the manipulation is very therapeutic and relaxing for the children. Great little rainy day project!!