Helping Children Get Started With Printmaking

In a basic printing activity, the child learns that an object dipped in or brushed with paint makes its own mark or relief print on paper. This process can be repeated over and over again to create a design. Children use small muscles in the hand, wrist, and fingers as they hold the object, dip it in paint, and print with it on paper. They learn that each object has its own unique quality that each thing makes its own print.

Techniques range from a simple fingertip printing to carving a Styrofoam  plate and printing with it. Emphasis should be on the free manipulation of objects and experimentation with color, design, and techniques.