We kicked off Art Play Group last Friday with a bang. It is so fantastic to see all these new faces along with our play group veterans. It’s amazing how much they’ve grown in just a few months! I just love watching these kids explore, create and get messy! Last season I found this great styrofoam insulation board at Home Depot and used it for all kinds of play. I’m so glad I held onto it because this play group season I clipped it onto our pool fence to create a painting wall that is just perfect for little kids! I love the way the light reflects on the foil. It creates a really attractive surface for the kids to paint on and they were all about it, which always brings a smile to my face. We used all kinds of brushes and rollers. Next time I plan to put out a bucket of soapy sponges to wash it with. The kids will love it! I think this will be a permanent art installation for the kids to paint on all spring and summer long. The best part is after class I can easily hose it down with water and the paint comes right off. So far we’ve tried shaving cream paint and yogurt paint. Both came off super easy. And just look at these kids. They were very busy!!!
What a great idea! Can you go into more detail about what kind of Styrofoam board you used? Do you keep it outside all the time? In the rain?
Absolutely! I was so excited to share photos from play group, I think I left out some important details. So thank you for reading along and keeping me in check ; ) I’ve included a link to the panels in the post now. We are keeping it up outside but we live in Southern California so rain isn’t really an issue. Major drought! If there was rain I think it would do just fine. It’s really durable since it’s real purpose is for insulation. The foil stays on really well and there are so many things you can do on it. I left two panels out on the grass for a while and my girls skated on it with socks like it was an ice skating rink. They loved it! Hope that is helpful. Thanks again!
Hi Meri,
Is that three panels? xo
Hi Lis! This is two panels, which is plenty! One would be great for you I think. They are 8 ft long. You can do a lot with them. They come smaller too if you want. Have fun!
Love this idea Meri! I think we will be heading to Home Depot on Saturday 🙂 Shared on the Homegrown Friends FB page!
Oh my gosh, I love this idea! We’re finally getting ready to move into our own house and I was planning to try starting a fine arts play group – and I think this wall may have to be a permanent fixture. 🙂 Do you have a recipe for the yogurt paint? I’d love to let my 10-month-old join in, but he eats EVERYTHING.
Thank you so much! I am actually do a post about yogurt paint now. It’s SUPER simple though. Like, majorly simple. Plain or Vanilla yogurt and food coloring. That’s it! Just mix it up. Have fun!
Has the yogurt paint ever caused you any trouble with ants or other bugs? My husband brought up that point to me earlier. Do you think regular water paints would show up nicely on the insulation board?
Hi Olivia. Thanks for reading along. We’ve never had that problem. We rinse off the yogurt paint right after we use it with a hose. I’ve used shaving cream mixed with food coloring too and that worked really well. I don’t know how easily regular water based paints will come off but I plan to give it a try tomorrow for play group so I’ll let you know! : )
Hi Meri. Super creative. I have a question about the board. Is it covered in foil? If so, is that just regular-sized foil in rows along the length? How did you attach it? Thank you so much.
Hi! It’s not covered in anything that I did. I bought it like that at Home Depot. The foil is on it already and it lasts forever. Check out your local hardware store and you should see it. Insulation comes in all different sizes. Good luck!
Thank you so much! I’m going to go look today 🙂