Glitter, beads, rice, mud. Are you running away yet? I know it’s scary, but what if I told you this activity is loaded with sensory benefits and even has your children cleaning up in the end? Can you trust me on this? 

One of the first activities I had in mind when creating our D&J 123 Find & Fit, and ABC Find & Fit puzzles was using the pieces to paint. I love the curves and personality of the custom font that our amazing illustrator, Brad, created, and I couldn’t wait to use the pieces to stamp prints. I was happy to learn that my kids completely bought into this craftivity and now it's on rotation as a winning project in our house. 

We use regular washable paint when we stamp with our puzzles, but if you’d like to kick up the sensory experience, try this taste safe paint recipe for some added gustatory and olfactory (taste and smell) sensory experiences!

Let the kids pour bright and shiny paint onto individual, small paper plates and start the visual sensory play experience! As your kid begins stamping, they’ll find things aren’t perfect, which makes it even better! The paint drips and splatters (brace yourself) a bit, and bubbles form inside certain letters and numbers. This frustrated me the first time we started painting because I think I’ll admit I do get excited about nice-and-neat craftivities! After seeing how much my kids loved the challenge of trying to perfect the technique and soaking up all their laughter over the bubbles and splats, I knew I had to let go and let loose! 

Make sure you’re ready for this activity – ample space for the kids to stamp and plenty of paper or canvases on hand. If your kids are like mine, their energy is all over the place! They’ll move quickly through 3 pieces of stamped paper and then take a longer time on the next. Have a special event or a holiday coming up? We’ve stamped to make wrapping paper, treat bags, name signs, and countless other works of art.

As I promised, you can wrap things up by having them clean up! There is much fun and satisfaction in the tactile sensory play your child can engage in as they wash off the silicone puzzle pieces. At the end of the stamping, I start playing defense by collecting artwork to dry while wiping up the kitchen surfaces. I have the kids throw all of the puzzle pieces into a bowl and soap them up in the sink. They rub the paint off and rinse the pieces clean and either dry them off one-by-one or lay them out to dry. See? We are teaching responsibilities and team work here too! 

Ready to risk the mess? I truly hope you give this one a try and, if you do, please tag us on Social Media @dominoandjuliette so we can see what your little artists create!