Print Making with Muffin & Pie Pans

Print making is a great exercise to do with preschoolers because it demonstrates, in a very basic way, the concept of cause and effect. Not only that, it provides a bit of messy fun that every young child enjoys! Jenny, preschool teacher and Let The Children Play blog creator, shares a fun printing project using muffin tins and pie pans.

Supplies You'll Need
- Muffin tins
- Aluminum pie pans
- Craft paint
- Kids paint brushes
- Paint paper
- Q-tips

Directions for Creating Prints

1. Provide your students with shallow dishes of craft paint and invite them to use a wide, flat paint brush to cover the bottom of the muffin tin cups or pie pan with a thick layer of paint. Encourage them to mix different colors or create multicolored patterns.
2. With a Q-tip, have your students "carve out" designs in the thick paint.
3. Help them flip the pan and gently press the painted portion to their heavy paint paper.
4. Set the designs aside to dry.

Students will be excited to see their designs transfer from the pans to the paper and learn that, what they choose to draw on the tin determines what gets translated onto the paper (this will especially become clear if they decide to include letters in their designs - they'll turn out backwards). Overall, this project is sure to be a hit with your preschoolers!

let the children play: print making with muffin tins