Fun Crafts for Kids Who Are Blind: Sand Painting

Blind children love sand painting because it allows them to utilize their sense of touch to the fullest extent. They cannot only feel everything that they are painting while they are in the process; they are also able to admire their work when the paintings are dry. Like sighted children, blind children love to show off their masterpieces, and sand painting enables them to do this because they can point out various aspects of their artwork, as they explain to others what they have done. If you have a blind child, or if you will be working with blind children, this is one of the crafts for kids that you'll definitely want to consider doing with them. The preparation for sand painting is very easy, a lot of fun, and it is effortless to clean up.

Fun Crafts for Kids: Preparing for sand Painting

To prepare for sand painting, what you will need is to go to the craft store, Wal-Mart, or anywhere else that sells different colored liquid paint that is washable. Then, you will need to go to the grocery store and purchase the amount of baby food jars that corresponds with the number of different color paints that you have. For instance, if you have five different colors of paint, you will need to purchase five baby food jars to correspond with these colors.

Now that you have purchased the baby food jars and the paint, you will then need to purchase sand to mix into the paints. Sand can be purchased at hardware stores, Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, or craft stores. Make sure the sand is mixed evenly into the paints because if it is not, the texture will be uneven when painting, which will be a grave disappointment to a blind child. This can be done by sight: or, if you are blind and preparing this craft, you can feel to see if the sand is evenly mixed with the paint.

Once this part of the preparation is complete, you will then need to make sure you purchase thick paper. Cardstock is the best kind, as the paint will not bleed through, and this type of paper is thick enough to bear the weight of the sand and the paint. Along with purchasing the cardstock, you'll want to purchase some newspapers, if you do not have any already, so you can line the area in which you and the children will be partaking in the craft, to make cleanup a breeze. Now that you have taken the steps to prepare for the craft, you are ready for a day of fun.

Fun Crafts for Kids: Cleanup After Sand Painting

Once you and the blind children have had all of the fun that you all can muster, it is time to cleanup. Don't worry, though, because the cleanup process is quick and easy. All that you will need to do is put the lids back onto the baby food jars, so you can save the sand paints that you have mixed for another day, if there is any paint left over. Should there not be any paint left in the jars, you can rinse them out and store them for another time. Put all lids back on the paint jars, as well. Then, ball up the newspapers that were being used to line the painting area, and throw them into the trash. After that, hang the paintings in a place you know will be safe. Presto! Your job is complete!

Sand painting is one of the crafts for kids that enables the blind children in your care to have a fun time, and what's more, it is not much work for you. So, when you are stomped as to what you can do to keep blind children busy, along with having a fun time, sand painting is the craft that will surely do the trick.