Last week, I mentioned how happy I was that it was finally Fall.  This week, I can really, totally, truly say that it finally FEELS like Fall and I could not even be happier.  I also promised some more fun Fall-themed activities over here and so today, I’m excited to share this Fall tree craft we made recently.

This fall craft was our first attempt at cotton ball painting and it was so much fun!  We can’t wait to do it again.

It ended up being the perfect mixture of mess-making and creativity and is a great way to promote fine motor skills for little hands.

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Fall Tree Craft: Cotton Ball Painting

I decided to do this cotton ball painting activity kind of on a whim, to be honest.  I’d seen variations of it before, and Little and I have been talking about leaves changing and other things to look for in the Fall. We had all of the supplies on hand, so it was easy to put together for him.

Fall Tree Craft: Supplies

• Paper
  • We used an extra piece of scrapbook paper, but any copy paper or construction paper will work just fine.
• Brown Marker or Pen
• Fall colored paint
  • We used brown, green, yellow, red, orange
• Paper plate (or in our case, and old egg carton) for paint
• Clothes pins
• Cotton Balls
• Art Smock to protect clothes

Instructions

1. Use your marker to draw the trunk of the tree and some branches.  (Note: It’s most likely getting covered in paint, so it does NOT have to be perfect.)
2. Let your child use clothes pins to pick up a cotton ball for his or her paint.
   1. I recommend having at least one cotton ball and clothes pin per color of paint.
   2. I’d also point out, you might need to help get the cotton balls on the clothes pins.
   3. And finally, some kids might prefer to just use the cotton balls without clothes pins.  That’s also fine.
3. Add paint to a paper plate or egg carton for your child to use.
4. Let them paint.

And that’s it.  We spent some time talking about how each leaf changes a little differently – some are green longer, and how others turn red, orange, or yellow, etc.

After we let our paint dry, we hung it right up in the kitchen on display, because it’s fun for Little to see his own work on display (and it’s fun for Mama, too.)

It’s really easy to try to “help” them get the paint just right or to make a “pretty” craft.  But, it’s really good to just let kids paint and be creative how they will.  Of course, I’m saying this as a reminder for myself too because I KNOW it builds self-confidence for Little when he can do things on his own.

As always, too – it does NOT need to be perfect.  The process is the best part.

PIN IT FOR LATER:

Have you ever done a cotton ball painting activity?  I’m already thinking of our next project!  What other fun supplies have you used for painting?