Foam Paint

We've had great success in the past with 'foam paint'. The easiest, cleanest method is to mix a bit of shaving cream with food coloring. I recommend not putting paper down to protect the tables, or it will create a soppy mess. Instead, just wipe up the leftovers. You're only playing with soap, after all. I was surprised to find that the food coloring didn't stain anything--or anyone. The type of 'paint' we tried didn't even make it to the paper. The kids just played with it on the tabletops, and nothing had a chance to dry. I guess technically it's called bath paint, and it's very easy to wash away. I was inspired by this post from the blog, Meet the Dubiens, which I found via Pinterest.

I know some people have had luck adding glue to the mix to create actual puffy paint. I haven't tried this personally, but some of my colleagues swear by it.

I really love this activity, and I plan to do it again. I tried it with preschoolers, and a couple of Kindergartners, and it was very age appropriate. Right now, the weather outside is terribly snowy, but once it gets warm again, I'd like to take this activity outside and really get messy with it! I'll be test driving some other paints for a tween paint party, but I might add this to the paint offerings because its so easy and fun.