When I taught kindergarten, I didn’t use washable paint. Yes, I was probably nuts, but hear me out. Washable tempera paint just isn’t as vivid as regular tempera paint. (And don’t even get me started on those off-brands that have ridiculously dull colors!) In my opinion, if children are having an art experience, they should be using products that give them an amazing color explosion instead of a ghost of the experience they could have had.
“But Kim, you crazy blogger, what about the mess and the staining?” I always made sure my kids were wrapped up in big ol’ men’s shirts whenever they painted. In addition, I told parents that kindergarten was for exploration and the kids would be using paint that stains. They would also be outside frequently. This is not the place for delicate clothing and cute little dress shoes. Learning is messy!
Talk to me about paint. What do you like? What do you dislike? And don’t worry if you sound crazy. People will just put 
you in the “Crazy Like Kim” category.
Now let’s celebrate paint with this fabulous process art freebie!
I love to let the kiddos paint with tempra and other types of paint. But my favorite thing is to add to the paint. I love the look corn syrup adds to paint it’s really vivid. Yes it makes a sticky mess and takes more time to dry but oh well preschool is a messy place
We use lots of paint, glitter, glue, markers, etc in my classroom. I do buy washable items. But do you know where my parent complaints come from? Lunch!!!!!! I haven’t had one parent in 12+ years complain about art material stains on clothes. But I sure get complaints about food stains from the cafeteria!