Pages to Projects: Milk Painting

This post was originally published on May 1, 2014.

Our good friend Rebecca Dunn is back on the Library as Incubator Project with another great post in her popular Pages to Projects series! She shares how to incorporate elements of art education and appreciation into storytime; if you’ve been inspired by Rebecca’s projects or have used her storytime plans at your library, we’d love to hear about it!  Share your experience in the comments or on social media. ~Erinn

by Rebecca Dunn

After a long, cold winter the weather is slowly warming up and spring is becoming more of a reality. Finally! Blue skies! With the change in weather, spring is a popular time to host weather themed storytimes. A classic read for toddlers and preschoolers about clouds is It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw, a simple book that stimulates the imagination when it comes to shape recognition.

A great complimentary project to activate those amazing, creative little storytimer minds is the art (and science) of Milk Painting.

This is Pages to Projects. Let’s do this.

I’ve seen a few milk painting projects making the rounds on Pinterest, like this one. After testing it out, I thought it would make for a fun follow-up project after reading Looks Like Spilt Milk, not only because one of the materials used is milk, but because it is an imaginative and easy process-based craft. Bonus points: There’s a teachable science moment. Huzzah!

Here is what you need for Milk Painting:

• Milk (almond or cow)
• Liquid watercolors or food coloring
• Cooking pans or dinner plates
• Dish soap
• Watercolor paper or cardstock
• Toothpicks or Q-tips or both
• Eyedropper (optional)

I’ve tested both almond milk and whole cow milk. They both do the job. For those of you nervous about using paint in storytime, I’ve listed a few tips about how to manage projects that tend to be more on the messy side below.

I used cooking pans, but you can also use sturdy disposable paper or plastic plates. If you want to use cooking pans, ask your coworkers if they wouldn’t mind bringing some in to be used to educate the young minds at the library. To prep, fill pans or plates with a thick layer of milk. Don’t worry about keeping the milk cold, because it’s actually better if it’s warm. I highly recommend doing a demonstration first. To start, drop a few drops of either food coloring or liquid watercolor into the milk pan. Now, this is the magic part. You are going to add drops of dish soap using either a cup with dish soap and an eyedropper or the actual squeeze bottle. When the dish soap enters the milk pan, the colors rapidly disperse.

In a scientific nutshell, the quick movement of the colors when the dish soap hits the pans is the protein in the milk reacting with the polarity of the soap (Further explanation on that here.)  Like I mentioned before, it’s better if the milk has been sitting out for a bit. Cold = slower reactions. You’ll have more intense chemical reactions if the milk is room temperature or warm.

After the dish soap is added, let the milk painting begin! With a toothpick or Q-tip in hand, play with the colors, spiraling, mixing, and marbling.   Now if you want, you can stop right there, especially if you have a younger crowd. Or take it one step further by capturing the milk paintings on paper. Beforehand, cut your paper so that it fits entirely in the dish if it doesn’t already. Early on in the milk painting process before all the colors are mixed together, lay a piece of paper on the surface of the milk so that it’s floating (don’t submerge), and then peel off and lay flat to dry. The results, once dry, are pretty as can be. Bring this project full circle back to It Looked Like Spilt Milk by asking what their finished milk paintings look like to them.

Tips for this project or using paint or other messy materials in the library:

• Cover tables with disposable tablecloth or butcher paper for easy clean up
• Keep old tshirts on hand for kids that are wearing something caregivers would rather not get painted on.
• If you don’t have a sink nearby, baby wipes are great for getting paint off fingers.
• Try doing the activity or project before storytime to allow drying time.
• Ask for the caregivers to help out not only their children, but other children near by who may need assistance. They are usually more than willing to help.
• For projects that are not quite dry, offer to keep them at the library until storytime next week (this encourages attendance the following week!) or during their next library visit.
• Place the projects in a space they can dry while families collect books to check out, play on the computer, etc. (Okay, so maybe this is a ruse to get them to utilize the library a bit longer!)
• Instead of taking the project home right away, make sure the child’s name is added to the project and create a display, or gallery if you will, of the finished artwork once dry. Not only will other patrons enjoy viewing them, the storytime kids will be so proud to find their pictures hanging in the library when they return.
• Start with a project that’s low maintenance that you’re comfortable with– like this past Pages to Projects Salad Spinner Art.

 

Want More?

• For more activities and art projects for It Looked Like Spilt Milk check out the Pages to Projects Pinterst board.
• Don’t miss previous Pages to Projects blog posts!

 

Rebecca Zarazan Dunn is a children’s librarian for the Chattanooga Public Library, and a 2013 Library Journal Mover & Shaker.  When she’s not having fun at the library or wrangling her own kiddos, she can be found at her blog home, Sturdy for Common Things.

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