Easy Mural Painting with Kids

Like any kids, mine love to paint. Given the choice, they would probably paint all day, every day. Unfortunately, they have a stressed out mommy who doesn’t like extra messes and so, arts and crafts are sadly not a regular occurrence in our home (which is heartbreaking because art projects and experiences were always my favorite as a preschool teacher!) But the easiest and least messy art project I’ve found is mural painting with kids.

What is so great about mural painting with kids is that it’s super flexible, all you need is a large canvas (aka paper) and some paint. Add some paintbrushes or whatever other items you have around the house for applying the paint (little hands work too!) and watch the mural happen!Tips for mural painting with kids

Usually I just throw down a large piece of butcher paper or white rolled paper and let the kids take inspiration from their surroundings and paint whatever inspires them.

And other times we do a themed project like the fireworks mural painting we did for 4th of July.

Painting 4th of July fireworks. #4thofjuly #kidsart #summer

A photo posted by Melissa Roy (@beyondmommying) on

If you want to do a more authentic, in-depth mural painting with kids, though, here’s a few ideas:

Tape or hook the paper to a wall or fence to allow kids to practice working upright rather than on a flat surface.

Have the kids plan their mural by sketching it on printer paper first to get an idea of what they want to create.

Using the original plan, have the kids scale up their idea and sketch on the larger paper.mural drawing

With older kids, talk about creating layered scenes and painting from the back forward.

Encourage kids to work together to create a cohesive piece using similar colors and brush strokes when working on different parts of the mural.

Tips for mural painting with kids

Their finished Under the Sea inspired Mural:

Tips for mural painting with kids

This post is part of the 2016 Paint-A-Thon hosted by Emma Owl where you can find more than 200 kids painting ideas by more than 50 bloggers!

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Tips for mural painting with kids

Get the supplies for making a mural painting with kids:

Note: Below are affiliate links meaning if you click and make a purchase, Beyond Mommying may receive a small commission which is used for the upkeep of the website.

Butcher Paper

Washable Paint

Paint Brushes

3 Comments

  1. Cindy August 16, 2016
  2. Julie August 28, 2016
    • Melissa August 28, 2016