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  • Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

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    Home » Art Activities

    Fine Motor Skills Water Art

    Published: May 4, 2016 · Modified: Jun 17, 2022 by Vicky · This post contains affiliate links.

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    Are you looking for a fun activity for your kids that doesn't take a ton of set up time? Then this Fine Motor Skills Water Art activity is right up your alley. Kids can set up most of the activity themselves. This art activity combines creativity with fine motor skills which makes it perfect for little ones who are learning to write. If you are looking for more easy fine motor skills activities, check out these Fine Motor Patterns. My kids were amazed the first time they tried this activity and you will be too. It is such a fun activity to try!

    My kids were amazed the first time they tried this Fine Motor Skills Water Art. The water creates all kinds of cool patterns and art while being a great fine motor activity.

    Fine Motor Skills Water Art

    You will need: 

    • Pipette droppers
    • Food coloring or liquid watercolors
    • Wax paper 
    • Cups with water
    wax paper, food coloring, and plastic cups

    After filling some recycled applesauce cups with water, my daughter squeezed a few drops of food coloring into each and mixed them with the pipette. You can do this with as many colors as you want. We started out with five colors.

    child adding food coloring to water

    I cut a large piece of wax paper for my daughter and she started using the pipette to drop drops of colored water onto it. Drawing the water into the pipette and releasing it on the wax paper uses fine motor skills as the small fingers of the hand do the work.

    fine motor skills water art

    I

    The wax paper causes the water to bead up and remain on the paper rather than get soaked up.

    fine motor skills water art

    My daughter experimented with squeezing out smaller and larger drops of water.

    fine motor skills water art

    My youngest daughter tried mixing colors by dropping one drop of colored water onto another. She is still working on her fine motor skills, so you'll notice that her grip is more immature than my older daughter above.

    fine motor skills water art

    The kids created some beautiful water art and were just amazed with the colorful results. Their only complaint was that there was no way to save their work other than with photographs. So of course we took a ton of pictures!

    fine-motor-skills-water-art-6

    Green Kid Crafts, an earth-friendly monthly craft subscription box for kids that encourages creativity while teaching kids respect for the environment, is a great place to start if you're searching for additional activities for small ones.

    If you enjoyed this fine motor skills water art, you will love:

    Drip Watercolor Painting

    18 Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers

     

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kristi

      March 12, 2022 at 6:48 pm

      I did this with my school age kiddos. We placed a piece of watercolor paper on top of the water droplets

    2. Vicky

      May 09, 2017 at 8:42 am

      What a creative idea Virginia! I love the idea of being able to preserve it!

    3. Virginia

      May 09, 2017 at 6:48 am

      How about using a square of muslin to go on top of the art and make a pillow out of it?

    4. Vicky

      March 27, 2017 at 5:18 pm

      I never tried that, but I like the idea and it's worth a try to see if it would work.

    5. Meg

      March 27, 2017 at 1:34 pm

      What if you placed a piece of paper maybe water color paper over the wax paper and pressed to preserve the water art?

    6. Vicky

      May 25, 2016 at 12:46 pm

      I love that idea Minta! We will try it next time!

    7. Minta

      May 25, 2016 at 6:09 am

      What if you laid a piece of white paper over the water drops? It may not save the work exactly but could make a whole different piece of art.

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    Hi, I'm Vicky, the founder and content creator at Mess For Less. If you are looking for family-friendly recipes, recipes that kids can make, and play and learning activities for kids, you will find them at Mess For Less. I invite you to learn more about me. Thanks for stopping by!

    Valentine's Day Activities and Recipes

    • Valentine’s Dessert Cheese Ball
    • Valentine's Brownie Cake Pops
    • Valentine's Chocolate Covered Pretzels
    • Valentine Ideas for Kids - Glitter Hearts

    Winter Activities

    • Q-Tip Painted Snowman Craft
    • Winter Shaving Cream Paint
    • Pinecone Snowman Craft
    • Melted Snowman Craft

    Popular Recipes

    • Crack Chicken Casserole
    • Overnight Egg Casserole
    • Toasted Italian Sandwich - Food Fun Friday
    • Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Bake

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