Creative Newspaper Painting with Children: Exploring Layers, Contrast, and Reusing Materials

Using common materials as an art surface, such as newspaper, provides rich opportunities to explore lots of different possibilities and results.

This Play Invitation offers children opportunities to explore painting while deepening concepts such as layers, contrast, transparency, and opacity, and offers a new idea for reusing common materials for art making.

What Could Lead Us to This Play Invitation

• Children have been curious about painting on different surfaces beyond white paper;
• Children have been interested in adding their marks to previously painted papers as a continuation of something that already exists;
• Children are excited about reusing materials.

Materials Needed

• Tempera paints
• Newspapers
• Brushes
• Water
• Tape (optional)

Setting up This Play Invitation

1. Place the newspaper sheets on a flat, washable surface.
2. Have tape on hand to attach the newspaper to the surface, to keep it from moving while painting.
3. Add the tempera paint and brushes to the work area. If using tempera cakes, add a jar with water.
   
   Tip: Check over the content of the newspaper pages before using, to make sure it is child-appropriate.

How to Create the Newspaper Painting

1. Invite each child to select a newspaper sheet and begin painting. Encourage them to experiment with different colors and brush strokes.
2. They may notice the print, images, symbols, shapes, or anything else from the newspaper as they paint.

3. Suggest they explore how different colors and brush techniques interact with the newspaper. They can also use the newspaper’s existing elements as part of their artistic design.
4. Once the paintings are dry, gather the children and invite them to share their observations. Discuss how the newspaper print influenced their artwork and what new discoveries they made.

How to Nurture the Natural Unfolding of the Child’s Identity During This Play Invitation

• Children have the right, in their productions, to use papers that already have marks – such as prints, textures, patterns, and drawings. This allows them to develop new creative dialogues with what already exists.
• Children have the right to revisit and reuse their work. Not filing away their works immediately allows children to complete them over time, and attribute new meanings as they do. For example, a child can restart a process on an incomplete drawing later, or the drawing can invite a new process from another child who wants to build on their idea.

The Academic Learning Opportunities

• LANGUAGE: Explore new vocabulary to communicate ideas.
• ART: Elaborate on an imaginative idea from something that already exists, instead of just white paper.
• SCIENCE: Reuse materials for another purpose.

Extensions

• Print some photos and lay a transparent sheet on top. Offer permanent markers and invite children to draw over the image that already exists.

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