By Rev. Doug Forbes
Finger painting provides your students with opportunities to be creative and use their imagination in new ways. It’s educational and fun too. Finger painting also provides an excellent opportunity for younger children to discover that their primary colors are blue, yellow and red. Ask your students to mix blue and yellow to make green, yellow and red to make orange, and red and blue to make purple.
For Finger Painting Fun you need the following: Bibles, finger paints, a black marker, smocks, finger painting paper, newspaper, wet and dry paper towels and/or baby wipes to clean up and lots of helpers.
Begin your finger painting adventure by reading a favorite Bible story with lots of color in it. For instance you could read the story of creation and ask your students to imagine the colors forming as the world began. Ask the children to use an explosion of color to show God’s great joy in his creation.
Another great Bible story you could share is Joseph’s coat of many colors. Begin your class by telling the story of Joseph and then bring out the paint. Draw the outline of a coat filling the entire sheet of each child’s paper and let the children go to work painting colorful coats.
My favorite Bible story of finger painting is Noah’s Ark. Share the story of Noah’s ark, and then draw an ark filling the lower third of each student’s paper. Let the young people color in the ark with brown and then paint a beautiful rainbow using many colors in the sky. Make sure that you save a little room for a bright yellow sun.
For more Bible story ideas, check out “Bible Story Coloring Pages I and II” by Gospel Light Publications. They are available at your favorite Christian bookstore.
Once you have completed your Bible story, cover the tables with newspaper to keep them clean and have your students put on smocks to protect their clothes. Pour various colors of finger paints into bowls and let your children’s creativity flow. You will be amazed by the results!