The toddler twosome have been getting a little bored of building with their foam blocks so I was about to put them away for awhile when I thought perhaps they might be fun to do some paint stamping with!
The blocks have many different surfaces that can make different shapes depending on how they are held and stamped. We found a nice shady spot under a tree….set up our paint tray on the spool table and got straight into stamping some colourful shapes!
There was a lot of investigating going on too…if you press harder the print comes out darker, the paint soaks into the foam and the blocks feel squishy with the paint on them.
This activity also provided many opportunities for language as we talked about the different shapes they were making on the paper and the colours they were using…..
There was so much practice for toddler fine motor skills as they pressed harder into the sponge pads to get more paint and then stamped onto to the paper to make the shape prints!
Ruby of course had to have a little taste as she always does. She likes to use the stamp pads (just kitchen sponges in a tray with paint soaked in) as it means she doesn't have to have her hands messy with paint for the entire time of the activity as she does become a little stressed after a while if her hands remain caked in paint.
As usual with our paint activities though I always keep a tub of water and some washers and towels close by so the girls can wash their hands as they want to…saves trips to the bathroom and I don't get stressed when Ruby wants to keep cleaning her hands!
I was really pleased with how long this activity kept the girls busy…they enjoyed recognising and talking about the different shapes they were making and the bright colours made a beautiful picture!
It really extended the fun of these foam blocks which I have actually had since Miss Teen was the twins age! They are also excellent in the bath as they tend to stick to the sides and wall when wet!
A fun shape and colour recognition game which was also fantastic practice for their developing fine motor skills and a challenge for Ruby's sensory sensitivities…this one goes into the stash to do again soon!
If you are interested in some more toddler painting ideas with shapes just click on the photos below to visit some of the circle painting activities we have had fun with!
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I love the idea of making the stamp pads with kitchen sponges. I will have to try that out.
We love using those sponge stamp pads here with lots of activities Shaunna…they save a bit of paint being wasted too!
All very cute – looks fun and very easy!
You know i love the easy ones!!
Great idea! We have these same blocks. We’ll have to give this a try.
Great Allison…has certainly given them a new lease of life…we have done it a few times since!
This is great Jode, I love your idea of having a sponge in the paint container so the girls can experiment with pressing hard/soft. 🙂
You always amaze me with how creative you are with your girls, what a great idea using the shapes for painting. You could use those beautiful paintings for Christmas presents. I can’t even remember the last time my girls used shapes for painting but I do remember in child care that we would use plastic cotton spools and sometimes kitchen utensils like potato mashers:) xx
I so need to do this! I’m requesting paiting smocks for the girls for Xmas because I want them to have more messy play like you do with your girls. I’m not sure I can wait that long though!
I find painting smocks more trouble than they are worth Penny…i just use my cornflour paint and edicol dyes and then i don’t stress as it all washes out easily! Don’t wait…get going…even the normal washable paints usually wash out after a soak in some napisan!!
My daughter would love these and just like Ruby is constantly wanting to clean her hands, so we also have the tub of water and cloths nearby 🙂
Sometimes i think the cleaning the hands in the tub is more fun than the actual activity!!
Those pictures you little ones made really came out beautifully- framable in fact! Love the idea of the water bins nearby. Very clever!
Thanks Stephanie…i actually have one on the wall at the moment and was thinking the same thing….good xmas wrapping paper too!
This is a great idea. I’m wondering how the blocks turned out in the end? Were they hard to clean? I think it’s a great idea to use them as stamps. FUN!!!
Not hard to clean at all Kate…they did stain a little but i left them soaking in the water bucket for the afternoon and they have been playing with them in the bath this week so it has pretty much come off!
Are they foam blocks? I haven’t seem them before. I know you said you’ve had them for ages but I wonder where I could find some now…
Funny the more I read about Ruby, the more I see similarities with Jack. He also gets a little anxious when he has lots of paint on his hands so we also have a tub of water for him to clean his hands. He likes to paint, and doesn’t seem bothered by it to a point but then has to clean it all off.
They are foam Kate…i brought them years ago for my now 16 yr old so going back a fair way. i did see something similar recently in Target or perhaps Big W…one of the department stoes anyway…and they aren’t expensive either.
Ruby is like Jack…will tolerate for awhile but then i can see her beginning to get a little flustered rubbing ehr hands on her short and shaking them so i direct her to the water…she is fine then and goes back to make more mess!They do sound similar!
Love how you have so many ideas on such a simple activity and incorporate so many little extras to keep extending the play
Thanks Nathalie…i really like finding ways to extend the play…got to keep one step ahead of toddlers!
Jodes you are amazing! I love coming to visit your blog, you have so many wonderful and fun-filled learning activities that inspire me to try. Once we have finished our learning colours series I had been planning on doing a learning shapes series. I will defintitely keep this one in mind. Thanks!
Thanks Janice…what a lovely comment!love your colour series so will be looking forward to your shapes..glad we inspired a little 🙂
Thanks for linking up to the Kids Co-op last week. I featured your adorable stamping activity. I can’t wait to see what you link up this week.
Thanks so much for featuring Tammy…the girls really enjoyed this one…so easy too!
What a nifty idea. I will definitely keep this one in mind before we pack our blocks away. The prints would make good wrapping paper too!
Foam stamping projects are always fun for kids since they get to see the immediate results (and get messy!).
The other neat part is that it’s an activity that can grow along with them. You can carve and cut foam into incredibly detailed and fantastic designs that’ll keep kids interested as they advance their skills.