- Gather your materials. You will need an onion , or large shallot would be great too! Some paint, a container to mix the paint in and some paper.
- Cut the onion in half – I started with ours in half and after it absorbed a lot of paint I cut it into quarters because it got slippery and harder for my son to handle. Also if your onion is really fragrant you may want to let it sit after cutting it, this will help avoid any crying or onion juice getting in little eyes!
- Pour some different colors of paint ( or just one) in a small dish and have your child mix it, this has become my son’s favorite part of art time!
- Dip your onion into the paint and go for it!
I did the first few prints on the page to show my son what to do. - Add a new color and if you want cut the onion into a different shape!
Books!
” Babar Learns To Cook” by Laurent de Brunhoff is an okay story for preschoolers, the story itself is not too special, but I love the end! When you read as many children’s books as most parents do sometimes finding something that tickles your funny bone is a breath of fresh air. At the end of the book everyone is given chef’s hats, well all the male elephants, much to the dismay of Flora who proclaims this unfair, and her mother Celeste backs her up! As I was reading the book for the first time I too declared this unfair out loud, so I was happy when it was worked into the story. The funniest part though is that the old lady decides against wearing the chef’s hat because she doesn’t think she’d look good in it. You can tell this is a French book!
” One Hungry Monster” by Susan Heyboer O’Keefe is a fun counting book that is great for all ages of young kids. My son will sit for the first 5-6 pages, even though the whole book is too long for him now. The book is a counting book and kids who are learning their numbers love these sorts of books, it also has a small lesson about manners since the monsters really lack any!
Michie says
I’ve seen potato painting and painting with lots of other foods – but I think this is the first time I’ve seen onion painting! 🙂
Jenny says
I find that if you put a fork in the onion, it’s easier for the toddler to hold (not round and slippery like the onion).