Painting with marshmallows is a great process art activity to add to your camping activities for preschoolers and kindergarten kids.
I love that this marshmallow painting activity uses non-traditional implements, mainly because that makes it super engaging for the children! Kids seem to get a kick out of painting without paintbrushes, and what a great way to explore different art techniques. Plus, it gets the children thinking outside of the box.
You can very easily adapt this marshmallow art idea for a wide variety of thematic units, holidays, and seasons. Which makes it a year-round art project to try with the kids.
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Related: Art Projects for Kids
My students and I first came up with this years ago during a camping theme, and the kids the preschoolers fell in love with it. Honestly, this marshmallow art activity went over even better than I thought it would! So many smiles and giggles along the way.
In the ensuing years, I can say this sentiment still holds true! There’s just something so fun about painting with giant marshmallows. Give it a try with your students and let me know how it goes!
Painting with Marshmallows
I’m not sure why the children’s interest surprised me back then. It’s always fun to explore a new art “tool”, especially when it’s something out-of-the-norm.
Over the years, my students have painted with a variety of non-traditional items. And each time an unusual tool is used, the kids have such a great time with it.
How to Prep the Marshmallow Painting Activity
Start out by grabbing the materials you’ll need for painting with marshmallows. I’m sure you can easily figure out the materials we used for this little art project! But, just in case, here they are (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
- Large marshmallows
- Candy or lollipop sticks
- Washable tempera paint
- White paper
Oh, and if you’d rather not use real marshmallows, I found these foam marshmallows that might work. I haven’t given them a try yet, though.
Once you have your supplies ready to go, it’s time to prep the marshmallow art fun. Place some paint into small plastic cups, paper plates, or reusable containers. We chose campfire colors – red, orange, and yellow. Red and yellow would work very well on their own, too, since they create orange!
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Then place the lollipop sticks into your marshmallows. We had some huge ones leftover from a camping treat we’d made earlier, and they worked so well. Finally, set out the paper and call the children over to create!
Directions for Painting with Marshmallows
This is definitely an open-ended, process art activity. Meaning that the children get to decide how to use the materials to create their marshmallow art. I love watching as the children used marshmallows to paint! It’s such fun to see how individual kids use the items.
Some children stamped the marshmallows all over the paper, while some stamped them all in a line. The most popular “technique”, though, was swirling the marshmallows around the construction paper.
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The end results were mostly swirls of yellow, orange, and red paint mixed together. When looked at, it didn’t seem like much. However, this is called process art for a reason! The children got a ton of enjoyment, and learning, out of of this painting activity. It wasn’t at all about the end result, and I am completely fine with that!
Let me tell you, putting the sticks into the marshmallows really helped! Not only did it involve less cleanup afterwards, but it gave the kiddos more control over their painting.
Have you ever tried painting with marshmallows or other “unusual” painting tools? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comment section below. Be sure to save this post for future reference. If you have a Camping Theme Pinterest board, that’s a great place to start.
Why Let Kids Paint with Marshmallows?
In case you’re wondering “What’s the point of painting with marshmallows?” I’ve got you covered! To begin with, it’s fun. And planning fun activities just for the fun of it is something I can easily get behind!
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In addition to that, it lets the children practice some important early learning skills, such as:
- Creativity
- Problem solving
- Color identification
- Fine motor development
- Color theory
- Cause and effect
You can even use the marshmallow art masterpieces as a jumping off point for some early writing. Ask your students to dictate a story about their marshmallow painting experience. Or work together to write a story about it individually, in small groups, or as a class.
More Marshmallow Activities for Kids
If the painting with marshmallows activity was a hit, here are a few more ideas to try with the kids:
Camping Dramatic Play
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Click on the image below for our camping dramatic play set. Engage your students’ imaginations with our ideas and printables!
You can also find us on Teachers Pay Teachers.
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Originally published May 2013.
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