DOUBLE TAP TO ZOOM WITH PHONE OR TABLET creative and authentic art  49 Tire Painting Tire painting is a favorite painting activity among young children too. Many twos and threes love to play with toy vehicles, and they are doubly at- tracted to the idea of driving the little cars and trucks through puddles of paint. Use shallow trays filled with thin layers of paint. Choose plastic toy cars and trucks. (Plastic ones are easier to wash than the metal ones.) Choose toy ve- hicles that have tires with a bit of tread on them so they make distinct tire marks. Offer different vehicle sizes and tire treads so children can explore the differences. • Have three or four paint colors available for the children. • Water down the paint slightly. • Be aware that spin art can get messy. Tape a plastic grocery bag around the outside of the salad spinner’s bowl to keep paint mess to a minimum. Spin Art In the old days, children could use a record player to spin a circle of paper while dripping paint onto it, creating an amazing, swirly artwork. Record players have gone the way of the dinosaur, but you can still make spin art in the classroom! Using an ordinary salad spinner, children can produce the same effect. First take the lid off the salad spinner. Then lay a circle of paper in the bot- tom of the spinner. Next, have the child spoon or squirt paint onto the paper. You may want to limit the amount of paint; a few squirts or spoonfuls should do. If children overdo it, you can show them the excess paint pooling in the bottom of the spin- ner. Close the lid and let the child turn the crank or push the button to spin the salad spinner. As the spinner turns, it distributes the paint in beautiful patterns across the paper. After a minute or two of spinning, take the lid off and reveal the wonderful and colorful spin art! Here are a few tips for doing spin art with twos and threes: • Have only one child at a time doing this activity. • Have several paper circles cut and ready in advance. Write each child’s name on the back of a circle before creating the spin art. Salad spinner art Eyedropper Painting Children can create eyedropper art on small paper, large paper, coffee filters, thick watercolor paper, or poster board. To paint with eyedroppers, use either liquid watercolor paint in bright colors or tempera paint diluted with water. Learning to squeeze the eyedroppers takes some practice. Have the children get used to eyedroppers with water only, or with colored water and corn- starch at the sensory table. After a few successes, move the eyedroppers over to the art center and fill them with paint instead. • Try different-colored papers for different effects. COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL