Painting gears is one of those super fun and engaging art projects with kids! It’s a novel art experience perfect for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students.
The children get to fully immerse themselves in process art as they’re making art with gears. Plus, they have the chance to practice problem-solving, fine motor skills, and various math concepts along the way. This gear art project definitely encourages outside of the box thinking, too!
I think this painting with gears activity would be great as part of your next robot or construction theme. Of course, you can easily incorporate the gear art into your plans any time of year.
This is one of those art ideas that came about very randomly during a discussion with a few of my preschoolers. I’m not even entirely sure where we started. But soon enough we were at the, “I wonder what it would be like to paint with our gears?” point.
And I’m so happy I ran with it! The children were so enthusiastic about the painting project. What a fun way to encourage creativity and taking chances, right?
Painting Gears
The group of students I tried this with first LOVED building and creating in so many ways. The toy gears were often a favorite. They were also very used to “creative license” when it came to their art projects.
If your students are excited about new creative endeavors, they’re going to have a blast with the painting gears art project. Read below for what we used and some tips for all the painting fun.
How to Prep for Painting with Gears
Start off by grabbing the supplies you need for the art project. Here’s what we used (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Toy gears – 1 of each color
- Paintbrushes
- Poster putty
- Tempera paint – to match each gear color
- White construction paper
Once you’ve gathered everything you need, you’re almost ready to go! Just a few more steps before the painting gears party can start:
- First, use poster putty to attach the ends of the paintbrushes to the gears.
- Next, pour some paint into bowls or onto shallow trays.
- Then, place the gear “paintbrushes” next to their corresponding paints, with the construction paper nearby
Now you’re ready to get the kids involved.
Painting Gears Art Project for Preschoolers
If your students are anything like mine, you’ll have an audience as you set up for the gear painting art. I love when the children get excited about new art experiences, what about you?
I recommend allowing the children to lead this gear-themed art activity. When I’ve tried it with the kids, I haven’t given any specific directions. I just reviewed the art center expectations and let them get into it.
You’ll likely see a variety of creations from your students. Since this is an open-ended process art activity, the kids can create as they see fit (within your basic parameters, of course). Here are some things I observed in my classroom:
- One child was very particular about where she placed her painted gears on the paper.
- A few others enjoyed painting with all of the colors all over the paper.
- Some were more focused on just one or two colors, stamping the gears over and over.
- A few of the kids twirled the gears around to paint, but not as many as I expected!
- One or two children decided they’d rather use the paintbrushes attached to the gears, occasionally flipping them over to stamp with the gears.
Oh, and some of the children had specific outcomes in mind. One was so excited to create a letter using the gears. It was near my birthday, so she painted an M for my first name. I was so tickled to be thought of that way!
Another kiddo wanted to make a rainbow of gears, since the gear paintbrushes were rainbow colors. Watching that come to fruition was a blast!
Be sure to save this painting gears ideas for future reference. If you have an Arts and Crafts for Kids Pinterest board, that’s a great place to start.
Why Should I Let Kids Try This Gear Painting Process Art?
To start off, it’s so much fun! And I think having fun is a great reason to try something with the kids. In addition to that, preschool art projects like this one allow children to touch on a variety of important skills.
Remember, young children learn through playing and creating and exploring! Below are some items my students worked on while painting with gears:
- Fine motor skills
- Colors
- Patterns
- Creativity
- Language skills
- Letter formation
- Cause and effect
That’s not an exhaustive list, but the skills that came to mind first as I wrote this up for you.
More Unique and Fun Art Ideas for Kids
If your students enjoyed this painting gears project, I bet they’ll enjoy these ideas, too:
- Catapult Art
- Painting on Mirrors Process Art
- Snow Painting with Water Balloons
- Squirt Gun Painting
- Splat Art
- Rainbow Tree Branch
- Car Painting for Kids
Do you have any super fun art ideas that your students love?
Lesson Plans Ready to Go
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Originally published February 2014.
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