Squeegee painting with kids

Squeegee painting is one of the easiest art activities there is: a few blobs of paint, one big pull, and a rainbow appears. There's no wrong way to do it, which makes it perfect process art for toddlers, preschoolers and big kids alike.

Why kids love it

The magic is in the moment the colours stretch out. Children see cause and effect straight away, discover what happens when two colours meet, and use big, whole-arm movements that are good for small hands. And because the result is always a surprise, nobody can get it wrong.

What you need

• Washable paint in a few bright colours. Tempera or kids' poster paint works well.
• Card stock, thin cardboard or poster board. Ordinary printer paper soaks through and tears.
• A squeegee. A small window or shower squeegee is ideal for little hands. A strip of stiff cardboard or an old gift card works too.
• A baking tray or a tray with a rim, to keep the paint in one place.
• Smocks or old clothes, tape, and wipes close by.

How to set it up

1. Set up the space. Cover the table, put on smocks, and tape the paper to a tray so it can't slide while they pull.
2. Drop the paint. Squeeze a row of paint blobs near the top of the paper. Older children can choose and squeeze the colours themselves.
3. Pull. Show them how to hold the squeegee with both hands and pull it down through the paint in one go, all the way to the bottom.
4. Look and talk. Look at it together. Which colours mixed? Which stayed apart? What does it look like?
5. Again! Have a stack of paper ready. Nearly every child wants another go straight away.

By age

Toddlers

Stick to two or three colours, tape everything down and stay close. The pull itself is the activity, so expect lots of quick, joyful sheets.

Preschoolers

Let them place the paint and choose the colours. Ask them to guess what will happen before they pull.

Big kids

Try curves, combs cut from cardboard, and layers: pull one sheet, let it dry, then pull across it. Cut the dry sheets into cards, bookmarks or collage paper.

Less mess, more painting

• Use a rimmed tray; most of the paint stays inside it.
• Put out only a little paint at a time. A few blobs go a long way.
• Keep a damp cloth for the squeegee between pulls, so colours stay clean.
• Let paintings dry flat somewhere out of reach.

The mess-free version

For rainy afternoons, waiting rooms, classrooms and days when nobody wants to wash brushes, Scrape is squeegee painting on a screen. Children tap a colour and press on the paper to squeeze it out, then drag the scraper card through it, and the paint stretches and mixes much like the real thing. On a tablet, two fingers hold the card's ends and turn it as they pull.

It's free and runs in the browser, with nothing to install, no account and no ads. Paintings are saved only on the device, never uploaded, and the download button keeps a favourite as a picture.