Drops
The object of this activity is to learn about the properties of paint.
Using a shiny paper and a small brush, drop small blobs of paint onto the surface. Tilt up the paper so that the paint runs down, with some being absorbed on the way.

Blow Paintings
Another activity to experiment with the properties of paint.
Drop a blob of paint on the paper and using a straw, blow the paint around the page. You will need fairly thin paint so that it moves well around the page. Supervision will be required for younger children to make sure they don't suck paint through the straw.

Hands and Feet
Better as an outside activity, particularly when doing footprints.
You can put the paint into cups, for dipping fingers into, or use flat trays for whole hands and feet. Show the children how to use their fist to make a shape (a head or the centre of a flower) and then the side of their hand to complete it (being limbs or petals).
For footprints you will need a length of paper, weighted along the edges, for the children to walk along. It can be pretty messy but your kids will absolutely love it!

Sand Pictures
This project gives a more permanent result than normal sand activities.
You'll need- Plastic containers, fine beach sand, powder paints to add to sand.

Draw a picture on a large sheet of paper. Apply PVA glue on one section at a time and sprinkle on different colour sands. Depending on the age of your child they may need some assistance with the glueing. Shake off the excess sand and the masterpiece just needs to dry.

Splatter Paintings
You'll need- Large sheets of white paper, acrylic paints, brushes, art smocks.

Spread the paper on the grass or an easel. Make sure that your paints are fairly watery so that they give a light spatter when you flick them. Be sure to keep your creations as they make great wrapping paper.

Fruit and Vegetable Prints
You'll need- Apples, mushrooms, onions, potatoes or other firm vegetables that are easy to hold on to, poster paints, butcher's paper or roll of newsprint.

This is a great way to make cheap coverings for your kid's school books, or even wrapping paper. Cut the fruit in half and pat dry. You might want to use a couple of different colour paints then they can create patterns with shapes and colours.
This is an activity best done on the ground, or a large outdoor table. Cover with a plastic sheet or plenty of newspaper to catch the drips.
Potatoes are particularly good for cutting shapes out of. Your kids can draw a shape on the potato halves which you can then cut out for them.

TIP- A way to minimise mess is to use kitchen sponges with a little paint poured onto them in a shallow tray. This prevents your kids from picking up too much paint each time they dip, and also uses less paint! They can be rinsed out at the end of the activity and stored for the next painting session.

Eyedropper Rainbows
You'll need- Plastic Eyedroppers (Use old ones from medicines or they are cheap to buy), powder paint or food colouring.

Make up the paint colours - red, blue and yellow, in a fairly thin consistency so the colours mix well. Now your children can experiment with mixing colours. They may initially need some supervision and direction so that they don't make their sheets too wet with paint. The sheets will tear if waterlogged.
Another way to experiment with colour mixing is to wet the paper first. Using food dye add different colour drops close to each other and watch the colours spread and mix with each other.

Leaf Splatter Paintings
This activity definitely requires a well-covering art smock.
You'll need- Leaves, pods and other garden findings, paper, acrylic paint (can use left-over from household paint jobs), nailbrush or toothbrush, old photo frame, blu-tack, masking tape, fine wire mesh, old cereal or shirt box.