Finger painting is always fun!* Kids have permission to cover their hands with paint and slip, slide their fingers through gooey color. Finger paint is the epitome of sensory art and, for young children especially, sensory art is important for development and even helps them learn.
We recently tried a newly-developed kind of finger paint from Discount School Supply called Sensory Sand Finger Paint. It added a whole new layer of sensory fun to the activity!
Discount School Supply sent us a set of the paints to try out and review along with some finger paint paper and a big ole plastic finger paint tray
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Note :: They no longer carry the sensory sand finger paint or the tray (bummer!), but we often use and love their regular finger paint. It’s the best finger paint out there for kids. And if you like the idea of a tray, you can use a baking sheet or an art mat. Or buy one of these finger paint paper and tray sets.
The finger paints feel as slippery and finger paint-y as any finger paints, but they are also slightly gritty. It sounds like a funny combination, but the kids liked it, and it worked really well. The sand element is very fine—not coarse at all—but you can definitely feel it.
Here’s what we did with our finger paints
Squish, squeeze it…
Swirl and rub it around…
Draw and write in it with a finger…
Mix colors…
Make monoprints…
Drum, drum, drum with it…
Play back and forth with it…
And draw in it with all ten fingers at once…
Using a Finger Painting Tray
We started out using the finger paint paper in the tray, but about half way through the kids switched to painting directly on the tray.
It was the perfect finger painting situation! The paper was okay, but it kind of got in the way of a full-on sensory finger painting extravaganza. It bunched up a little and you had to be a bit more careful.
Painting directly on the tray was freeing.
I generally like to keep things basic and don’t usually go in for “extras,” but boy, I have to say I like that finger paint tray.
We’ve painted directly on the tabletop plenty of times, but it felt different with this tray. It’s extra smooth for one thing. It’s plenty big enough, but the space is defined. And I really liked knowing that I could take it outside and spray it down with a hose when the kids were finished painting. (If it were winter or I lived in an apartment, I’d probably wash it in the shower or maybe the sink.)
Again, the tray we used is no longer available, but you can use a baking dish or art mat or buy one of these finger paint paper and tray combos.
The Finger Paint Art
It is nice to have a painting on paper to display, though. Here’s one of the dried paintings. You can make prints from the paint in the tray (and we did lots of that!) but they have a very different look than the the finger painting that was done directly on paper.
Here’s a close up of one of the dried paintings so you can see (barely) the grain of the sand from the sensory sand paints.
Again, Discount School Supply no longer sells the Sensory Sand Finger Paint but their regular Colorations-brand Finger Paints are excellent. They also have glitter finger paints which look fun and sparkly.
*Note :: There are some children who don’t like the sensory stimulation of finger painting (or other messy art projects). It is more commonly a phase that a child goes through but it can also be a more ongoing preference. (And, occasionally, it can be the result of a sensory processing disorder.) If the child doesn’t want to touch the finger paint, you can let him paint with a tool (a brush or chopstick, for example) or put some paint in a plastic bag and let him squish it around with his hands. Next time, he may be ready use his hands.
oh my goodness how FUN does that look?!?!? how wonderful!
xoxo.
This looks so much fun for the children, love your pictures! The children will love to do this, thank you for your amazing blog.
That looks great I do that with some adult paints as well by adding different types of sand to create texture in my paintings. My kids would be able to experiment with texture in paint too!
Love the idea of the finger painting tray!
So fun! Love the tray!
Oh I love this! My 7 kiddos would love this!
Wow, would have never thought to let my little man paint on a tray instead of paper. My son would love this idea! He’s also a huge fan of our different sensory play that we do at home, so combining sensory play AND painting? Oh he will be in two year old heaven!! Good luck everyone :)
This looks so fun! My kids would love this.
Oh, this looks like so much fun for my 8 yr old daughter, as well as the residents of the nursing home I do Activities for!!!
This looks fun! I like the idea of the tray, too. Washable, reusable, perfect :)
What a fun post!! I’m a long-time fan of DSS (thanks to you, I’m sure!) and we’ve never tried these paints. I’m also a fan of simplicity, but the finger paint tray look sooooo useful.
This is so cool! My girls–a toddler and a preschooler– would love to get their hands into this! Here’s hoping. :)
Looks Like so much fun – I would love to give this as a gift to my daughters daycare!! Hope we Win!! :)
These look like fun. I really enjoy your posts, how you walk through the different experiments your kids had with every medium. it’s fun to read.
This looks amazing!!! I think the mixture is a brilliant idea! My two kiddos would love to make beautiful creations with this fingerpaint! Thanks so much for sharing all the wonderful ideas!
Wow, what a great idea. Having 4 yr old twins and a 3 yr old we do arts and crafts everyday and to be honest it’s a lot of paper that the kids want to see on display. This idea of the tray just for them to have fun practicing their letters ect and to add the sand, WOW never thought about that! What a great idea:). Just nice that you can let them go wild with just the tray or place paper in the tray if you choose. Contains the mess, which of course is a plus for me with so many young kids. Thanks for sharing!!
This looks like so much fun! My older two (7 & 5) love to fingerpaint but my youngest who is 16 months hates it. We keep trying though and he is slowly getting used to the idea. He is more of a clean artist lol.
So fun! My tactile girls would love this.
We’d love to try sensory finger pain at our house!
I would love to let my son try this out!
These sensory finger paints will be great to use with my son, who has sensory processing disorder. He has come a long way with finger paints already. These will add a new dimension to a fun activity!
How fun!!
Such a good Idea! Looks like so much Fun! My Children would have a blast with these.
wow…my daughter with sensory processing disorder would love these. great review!
It looks like your girls are having a ton of fun…my girls too would love this activity!
Love the idea of the tray. My boy will definitely enjoy this activity.
Both my kids would love this!
We would love this!
That sounds really cool. My daughter would love this.
I LOVE finger paint. I work in non-profit organization with families & I am know as the messy art creator and would love to finger paint with the wee ones that come to our center.
So fun!! The kids would love this..easy enough to do with 2 since it looks like it would keep them busy for a while!
Oh my goodness…we have just run out of finger paint…my kids would LOVE to win this!
Sarah M
thank you for including the bit about how some kids don’t like finger paint. We tried finger paint a year ago, my older son hated the icky feel (he’s like that) and my younger son, who is very kinestetic, kept licking his hands, FYI: finger paint tastes awful!!! I could not get them cleaned up fast enough. now that the little one is older, I would love to try this. Maybe i will add some sand to the paint I still have and see how it goes. I love the idea of the tray. Im going to spray paint an old cookie sheet glossy white and try that.
My sister-in-law works at a daycare, she said instead of commercial fingerprints they use vanilla pudding with food colouring for the really little ones who still lick their fingers.
Good idea, Amy. We also make our own edible finger paints (which are less tasty, so the kids aren’t encouraged to eat art supplies).
You can find the recipe here: https://artfulparent.com/2017/11/kids-thanksgiving-garlands.html
It sometimes takes my toddler a while to warm up to new sensory experiences, but I’d love to try these out with her! The colors look vibrant, too!
Love it! I wld love some!!
This looks like so much fun! My kids would love to play with this.
This would be a great addition to our basic finger paints! The kids would love the gritty texture! :)
Oh Wow! My 6yo and 2yo would LOVE this! Thanks for the chance to win!
My daughter (2) is obsessed with both sand AND painting — what a perfect combination!
I really like the idea of this. And, I might have to order the tray RIGHT NOW! What a great solution. We do most of our painting on the porch right now and the hose off option is ideal. Thanks!
I love it, my special Ed. Students will love it! I’m always looking for new activities/fine motor skills to have them do.
That tray is AWESOME, and perfect for finger paints. My son would have a blast playing with it!
We’d really love to try this paint out. We’ve got a whole house of fingerpainting enthusiasts, and this would be a great extension of our ordinary finger paint.
My kids would love that tray (oh, and the paint too). They love mixing paint and smearing it around — it almost never stays on the paper, usually ending up all over their arms and the table. (ps. Did the ice and paint thing today. Food coloring worked great.)
I’m already starting to think about after school art activities once school resumes in late August. Finger paint would be a perfect start to our stash of projects while unwinding from a long day… THANKS for all the recent giveaways!!!
Love your post on this. My kiddos would love this.
What a fun giveaway! I think my boys would love this fingerpaint, as they love painting, playing with/in sand, and getting as messy as possible! Thanks for the chance to win!
Those look like so much fun! Would love to win them for my daughter! :) Thank you for the giveaway! :)
This looks like so much fun!! I’m going to have to get some, even if I don’t win :)
Wow! My little guy would love this!
I can see this being a big hit in my home!
Oh my girls would have a blast with this!
Love it. Thank you for the giveaway.
Oh pick me!
I love the vivid colors!
I would love to win some of this cool finger paint!! Thanks for offering such a generous give away!!
Always looking for more sensory activities! Thanks for the giveaway!
Wow, looks like fun!!
This looks like sooo much fun!! I would love to win this and do it with my son!!!
How amazing is that, two things kids LOVE: finger-paint and sand, combined into something totally new. What a sensory experience!! My preschoolers would LOVE that!! Ms. Barbara, For the Children
my two boys love finger paint…:)
always looking for new art stuff that my boys will like…this looks like a winner.
We like finger painting around here, but it’s been a while since we’ve done it. We usually use shaving cream because it’s so creamy-feeling, but I think my kids would really like the sensation of sand in their paint as well. Thanks for the generous offer… fingers crossed. And now to go fingerpaint with my girls…
They look like they are having loads of fun. Thanks for the giveaway.
I am a kindergarten teacher and I love the idea of the fingerpaint with the added sensory stimulation of the sand! And the tray would be wonderful to keep the mess at bay!!!
That looks like loads of sensory painting fun!
Looks like fun! I wonder if I could do home version of the Sensory Sand Finger Paint?
That just sounds insanely fun! I’d have to get in on that fun along with the kids!
LOoks like fun!!
This looks like fun and we’d love to try it. Also wondering if at some point you can post about how you keep your kids from fingerpainting the walls … we’ve been having issues with it recently, and especially when we have friends over so it’s 3 or more kids.
This is cool! I am so going to do this with my twin girls! I am sure I will use this in school as well for a lesson plan!
Wonderful giveaway! Thank you!
Never mind my kids, I want to play with this.
Sand Finger Paint? Awesome.
Oooo!! Can’t wait to let my little guy try these out!
This my first time visiting your blog. Definitely gonna sign up for the emails. Would love to win this cool stuff!
I really love the idea of the tray!
Thank you so much for sharing these paints with us, I hadn’t heard about them yet… and I think that tray is a must for my house!
The colors look super vibrant. My younger one- who prefers the whole body experience would go nuts over this.
Finger paint is always fun. And indeed the tray thing seems like a great idea (even if only to contain – just a little – the mess of super-messy-with-paint kids like mine… :)
Fun! I love their paint tray–looks like it helps the paint (try) to stay in one place
this looks so fun!
would love to win :)
we’ve never tried this type of paint before, but it looks like so much fun!
This is wonderful, Jean! My kids, particularly my 3 yo daughter, loves finger painting. I know she would enjoy this sensory art experience. Thank you, also, for acknowledging that this may not appeal to all kids (my older son has sensory processing disorder).
That looks like some really fun finger paint! We tried making our own, it was not so smooth and colorful. It would be fun to have that vibrant set!
What a great idea for my special needs classroom! I must try these out
Just found your blog and I foresee many hours of fun in store for my kiddos!! They would love this paint.
How fun — my kids would love this!!
What a clever idea! I can just picture my toddler and her friends having the best time using this product.
This is totally amazing (*.*) We normally add things to our paints-much to our dismay at times
other times glee. We would LOVE LOVE to have our fingers,hands maybe toes? on this
Ohhh, I am just as jazzed about the finerpaint tray as I am about the sensory fingerpaints! I like it offers a “framework for freedom”.
I love to fingerpaint!
My kids and my students would LOVE these fingerpaints!
These look like so much fun! Thanks for the giveaway!
Naomi would love this! Thanks for the opportunity!
What fun!!! My girls would be thrilled.
Cool giveaway! One of the best yet!
Those look like great fun! Thank you for the chance to win!
The colors look so vibrant – we’ve been using homemade recipes, but it would be fun to have some ready-to-go-paint, particularly with a different feel.
I remember that kind of tray from when I did fingerpainting at summer school as a 3 year old – thanks for the lead!
we have been into painting a lot this week…they would love taking it up a notch with texture!
It’s a crime our 3yo daughter hasn’t used these, we’re both professional artists! She’d love this..
oh, wow it is so cool to see they make this. Its crazy bc I had no idea this was a product out there. The crazy part is that my son 3 yr told me the other day when we had our finger paints outside that he wanted to paint sand,lol. So he didnt want to put the sand in the paint so we played a little different but he got to paint his sand:-) I have used disc school supp. before to order supplies will have to go back and check them out. thanks so much for sharing- Jaime @FSPDT
Love, love, love it. Can’t wait to try it. Also gives me knew ideas for other additives to finger paint! What else can we put in there?
I love messy activities! Fun!
That looks like lots of fun.
This would give such a change up to the children than the normal finger paints. I think that this would be a very fun tactile experience.
Looks like fun!
the sensory sand paint sounds so great! I’d love to try it myself!
I love the idea of having a little sand mixed in!
We love finger painting! We use some very inexpensive trays I found for $1.50 each at the dollar store. The children can select and squeeze their own colors, mix however they want – add other textures if desired (playground sand from Discount School Supply is awesome)and make prints. They even share well…..
Thank you for telling us about this paint! I am very interested in new sensory experiences, especially with color. I can’t wait to try this paint with my preschoolers!
Wow that looks gorgeous! I haven’t seen that over here in the UK, but I’m off to mix up some of our own. we will definately be looking out for a big tray like that! Thanks! :)
That looks awesome! I was just telling a local toy store about this type of paint because they want to expand their special needs section. =)
This looks like so much fun! I like the tray too as it would keep some of those extra puddles contained. I want to try it myself after seeing the photos! Well I would let my daughters use it mostly. ;)
My daughter who is turning 2 years old on Monday would love these! She loves to color & paint. These would of been perfect when I was teaching preschool, I always had aleast one painting activity a week and I only used Discount School Supply paint because they have the best paint. I would love to paint along with my daughter with these :)
What a good idea — I haven’t pulled out the finger paints in ages. Thanks for the reminder and the chance to win!
I love all you art ideas!!! We do finger paintings in our center everyday. I used to do a lot with infant/toddler and I think I should start doing more messy art with older ones, too!
Thanks for such a great giveaway
Littlemamameow at gmail dot com
My kids would go nuts for this!
Since my kids are sensory seeking- they would LOVE this product!
My son LOVES to paint! He would enjoy these very much!!! He likes to take dinosaurs and action heroes and dip their feet in paint as a paint stamp :) These paints sound great!
FUN! FUN! FUN! Would love for my Pre K class to experience these paints.
I’d love this set! Looks awesome
OH! My lil guy would LOVE to be able to play and share with his friends this finger paint!
I love all stuff discount school supply! I have two of those trays in my classroom and they are awesome for all things art. I have also had the same experience with them replacing things messed up from shipping. I ordered an easel for my classroom and it came with a big chunk missing from the dry erase side. I called and they sent me an entirely new easel! I used their finger paint to make sensory paint with salt and this would be awesome…I wish I had known about this when I put my order in for this school year :)
That looks like fun! I love the idea of the finger-painting tray.
I would love for my boys to have a set of paints like these. This would be perfect for them to experiment with different textures! My middle child loves art and would have such a fun time with these. I am just thinking of all the things we could do with these paints. Personally, I have a passion for educational activities, products and art (I went to art school and film school) and I’m always looking for new activities and products to try with my boys. Thanks for sharing and for the give away. I’ll be sure to share your page with my friends!
My 4 year old son would love this!!!!
This would be a great addition to our daycare!!
Love it…I want to fingerpaint!! :)
looks like alot of fun!!
So fun!
Looks like fun!!!
How fun!
What a fun new (to me) product. I think my kids would love it!
These look so fun! My kids would have a blast with them!
Looks like a lot of fun!
Ooh! That looks like lots of fun!
Love it!
That tray is such a smart idea! The sand paint is very clever. I’m sure the kids would get a kick out of that.
What a great idea to put the sand into the paint – I know my four children have each had little phases of sensory likes & dislikes. I would think this would feel amazing – exfoliating!! And the tray… brilliant!! When my 4 sit down to paint, I quickly run out of places to hang and place pictures to dry. I have lengths twine pinned all around the room to clip pictures up on but eventually have to kill the painting time when there walls, counters and tables are all covered with drying art work!! And honestly, they don’t care too much about all the pictures once they dry – we select a few to keep and a few to share with family & friends. The rest goes into recycling :( The tray would give them more time to just enjoy the experience!!
What a great giveaway!! We would have SOOOO much fun with these paints!!
Love fingerprinting and so do the kids in my class.
Always great ideas and new products can be found on your site. Love it.
My children will be in heaven with this kind of paint!
we LOVE finger painting in our house.
My twin 3 yr olds would love to try this! Thank you for the chance to win!!!
My three kids would absolutely LOVE these products!!!!
Would love these for daughter!
I think this is a great sensory activity for children with Autism. Can’t wait to try.
My son LOVES to paint! Thanks for the review and giveaway.
DSS does it again – a simple addition to paint, adding texture via sand, provides such sensory stimulation for the little ones! If I don’t win the giveaway, I’m definitely putting some on my order form for the school year!
Awesome!
The tray looks like great fun. I’ll have to keep an eye out for big trays… Although I cover my dining room table with vinyl and if I’m feeling brave that might work, too :)
those paints look like FUN! pick me, please. :)
What a great giveaway! I’m sure whoever wins will be in for a lot of arty fun.
My son would love to explore with these paints.
Looks like so much fun! My kids would go crazy over those paints.
What a fun giveaway and a great sensory experience!
Now if they could just figure out how to make the colors stay colorful instead of ending in a brown goo :)
I always love.trying new paints!
I work with some special needs children that would love these. I think I will by a set for the school year
I was just getting ready to restock… May as well try to win them before I make the purchase. Thank you!!
This sounds like fun!!!!! Thank you!!!!
Bring on the textures!
I’ve never heard of this paint before and it sounds like a lot of fun! Perhaps I’ll have to join the kids in their painting this time. ;)
Looks like lots of fun!
These look like so much fun! Love the tip about using a brush or bag for kids who don’t like the sensation. We love using bags,especially the really huge ones.
I think my son would really like these!
The possibilities with these paints are endless! I would love these for my kids.
I have five boys in the house who would absolutely love these paints!
This is an awesome idea, I may have to get some just to see what happens with class when working with textured paint. There is so much you can do with this… using plungers and such and we see how much textures can be made with different uses.
Would love to try these out. We have the coloration liquid watercolors and we love them!
I would love to use these paint in my Early Childhood Special Education classroom and at home!
This paint looks like so much fun! Thanks for the chance to win it! :-)
Very cool! I like your ideas for warming a less tactile child up to the idea, too.
Love the tray idea!
How well does it wash out? My daughter likes to paint her clothes almost as much as she likes to smear it around.
These sound awesome!
As always amazing ideas. Both my kids are craving something like this.
These look amazing. My daughter would love them!
Looks like a great new product from my favorit only) supplier. Would love to try these out.
I bet that my 3 y.o.will spend at least 1 hour for this activity. She loves, loves, loves everything with née texture,.
Looks fun!
Looks great! I just got a box from DSS, but didn’t get the fingerpaints yet. We are loving liquid watercolors, btw. Thanks so much for letting us know about them!
Wow! These paints are awesome. My girls would love them!
Who doesn’t LOVE fingerpaints!?!?
My grandaughter has some sensory issues, and these would be perfect!! Living so far away, I can’t be there to do the painting with her, but it would be great during a visit!!
I have a home day care and I love these supplies. Discount school supply is not only great for the price but they have the best quality over anyone else. Even crayola and the big brands. My home day care is 100% discount school supply and I would not have it any other way. These fingerpaints were not in the catalog but I would love to try them. My kids and the kids who attend day care in my home would love it. We love playing new sensory activities. Thank you artful parent and Discount School Supply you both make my life much easier!!! (and more efficient with money)
Gina D
Would love a chance at this for my children and shall order for my program!
How fun! What a great way to incorporate a beach study to painting,
My kids love finger paints and I love open ended art projects. It’s always neat to see where they take it!
OMG I would love to try this with my daughter!! She loves to finger paint!
My children love finger painting and this looks really awesome :)
wow, great paints!
This looks great!!! I definitely need to do more finger painting with my boys.
we want it!!! :-D
Having a sensory-sensitive child, these would be amazing to try!
that is so neat and looks like it would be a blast! Thanks for the giveaway!!
So fun!
So we got a black tray in work Could I mix powder paint in it and then the children could do finger painting? xxx