Salt painting is a really easy, fun activity to do with children. I ran this program as a drop-in program. Families came in and out of the program for 2 hours. Some would stay for 5 minutes and others stayed for over half an hour and created several paintings. I even had parents join in on the fun! One big thing is to inform everyone that salt painting is more about enjoying the process than saving the picture. Salt painting will (eventually) dry but it does not last long.

Supplies:
Salt
Paper
Watercolors
Paintbrush
Glue
Cup of water
Container

Steps:
1. Use glue to create a design
2. Put the paper into a container
3. Sprinkle salt all over the design, make sure to cover all of the glue
4. Shake the excess salt off and into the container
5. Dip your brush into the watercolor paint and gently tap the salt with the paintbrush
6. Watch the color spread along the salt
7. Continue with other colors
8. Let dry

Tips:
– Buy 2 containers of salt, I only purchased 1 and had to turn some families away.
– To conserve salt you can pour the excess salt that is in the container into a cup.
– You can use construction paper but thicker cardstock is best.
– Do not put the glue on too heavy. Some kids used too much glue and when we shook off the salt mounds of glue fell off.
– Don’t make the watercolor too wet. If the paint is too wet it seeps through the paper and makes drying very difficult.
– Gently tap the salt with the paintbrush, this will allow it to spread and prevent the salt from coming off onto the brush.
– Let the salt paint dry for at least 2 nights. Pieces of salt will still fall off but a lot less fell off when it dried for 2 nights.