• Children should explore their creativity through painting.painting image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
  
  For children, art has always been a fun thing to do. The simplest artist's tool of all---the human hand---can be used in many ways to create some pretty unique and eye-appealing artwork. By using a variety of paints, on a variety of surfaces, your child can develop his talents. After the paints have dried, you can then proudly display the works throughout the house.
  
  

Basic Painting

• Pour a thin layer of children's water-based paint, available at many art supply outlets, on a flat dinner plate. Have your child lightly dip her open hand into the paint. Then touch a poster board repeatedly with the painted hand. She can have fun creating different patterns, such as an outside border. Pour different-colored paints on different plates and have your child experiment with colors.
  
  

Different Surfaces

• Have your child experiment with different surfaces. Provide poster board, cloth pillowcases (different colors), and wood boards (sanded smooth, to be splinter-free). Have your child experiment with different colors on the different surfaces.
  
  

Different Parts of the Hand

• Have your child experiment by painting with different parts of the hand. For example, make a fist and just dip the tips of the knuckles into the paint. The back of the hand can be used as well as the palm. Conversely, just the fingertips can be used.
  
  

Combine Techniques

• All the techniques can be combined to achieve different effects. The key concept is to experiment, since children should have fun just "goofing off" with finger and hand painting.