Painting with marshmallows is a great process art activity for any of our preschool themes, but it’ll be perfect for a preschool camping theme.
I love setting up process art invitations for the kids! Even better is when these art experiences are with non-traditional implements. Kids seem to get a kick out of painting without paintbrushes, and what a great way to explore different art techniques? Plus, it gets the children thinking outside of the box.
Related: Books to Read by Flashlight
With a recent camping theme, the preschoolers fell in love with painting with marshmallows. Honestly, this art activity went over even better than I thought it would! So many smiles and giggles along the way.
Painting with Marshmallows
I’m not sure why the children’s interest surprised me. It’s always fun to explore a new art “tool”, especially when it’s something out-of-the-norm.
The preschoolers have painted with a variety of non-traditional items over the years, from apples to pool noodles to toy gears. Each time an usual tool is used, the children have such a great time with it.
Materials we used for marshmallow painting
I’m sure you can easily figure out the materials we used for this little art project! But, just in case, here they are (I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post):
What we did
The set up for this was incredibly simple. We grabbed campfire colors (red, orange, and yellow) from the preschool workroom. The paints went into small plastic cups to make it easier for the kids.
Related: Marshmallow Name Activity
We had some huge marshmallows leftover from a camping treat we’d make earlier, along with lollipop sticks. The lollipop sticks went into the marshmallows, and paper was set out on the table. Then it was time to let the children create.
Putting the sticks into the marshmallows really helped with this art activity. Not only did it involve less cleanup afterwards, but it gave the kiddos more control over their painting.
I had fun watching as the children used the marshmallows to paint! Some stamped the marshmallows all over the paper, some stamped them all in a line. The most popular “technique”, though, was swirling the marshmallows around the construction paper.
Related: Make Your Own Pet Rocks
The end results were mostly swirls of yellow, orange, and red paint mixed together. When looked at, it didn’t seem like much. However, this is called process art for a reason! The children got a ton of enjoyment, and learning, out of of this painting activity. It wasn’t at all about the end result, and I am completely fine with that! 🙂
Have you ever tried painting with marshmallows or other “unusual” painting tools? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comment section below.
More Marshmallow Fun
Here are a few more marshmallow-themed activities the kids might enjoy!
Exploring marshmallows with the five senses
Engineering challenge with marshmallows
Marshmallow science experiment
Printable Preschool Camping Theme Lesson Plans
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for classroom teachers and home preschool so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
Get your preschool lesson plans here – Preschool Classroom Plans | Home Preschool Plans
You can also find them on Teachers Pay Teachers
Ok, this is just brilliant! I LOVE it, and you know what? I had a WHOLE BAG of those jumbo marshies, and I threw them in the composter because they’d gone stale! Rats!
So glad you liked it, Jackie!! Simple, but soooo much fun to be had with this activity. Aw, don’t you just hate it when you throw away something like that? Honestly, I’ve taken to keeping stale food for sensory activities and random craft projects. That sounds weird, but it works for me! Let me know if you and the hooligans try out marshmallow painting. 🙂
Oh this looks like so much fun! I love giving the kids new painting “tools” but never in a million years would I have thought to use marshmallows! We will definitely have to try this.
Thanks, Ann! When Mary Poppins and I were planning for camping week, we knew we wanted to try something different for art. I think it was the bag of huge marshmallows on our back counter that prompted the idea! Thank goodness Mary Poppins is used to my random suggestions (like, “hey, let’s paint with marshmallows!”) Plus, she and I knew the kids would love it. Let me know if you try it out!
I think a camping theme sounds like so much fun! When we did our M is for Marshmallow theme we painted with the small marshmallows and the kids only did the stamping technique. I love the idea of using big marshmallows, and I wonder if it would encourage mine to try out the swirling that your kids enjoyed so much.
The camping theme was definitely a lot of fun, Shaunna! 🙂 I’ll have to share bits and pieces from the rest of the theme soon. Yes, for some reason the larger marshmallows made the kids want to swirl the paint around. Let me know how it goes if you try out the larger marshmallows for painting! 🙂
I do love this. My little one hates fingerpainting so we tried this recently too with great success. He also loved painting with pom poms gripped by clothes pegs!
Thanks so much for stopping by! Yes, I think having the sticks definitely help kiddos who don’t enjoy getting their hands messy when painting. 🙂
Love this! My daughter adores marshmallows, so we’ll have to try this out before our next s’more session!
Yay! So glad to hear that. Be sure to let me know how it goes when you try it with your daughter. 🙂
I love this idea! Certainly something we will do this Summer. 🙂
Thanks, Jessica! Let me know how it goes if you paint with marshmallows! 🙂
my kids would totally eat them before they’d ever touch the paint LOL
Hahahaha! Yeah, we’d fed the kiddos a special camping treat prior to the art project. I think that’s the only reason the kiddos didn’t try. 🙂
This is absolutely amazing!! What a phenomenal idea MC!! I will definitely be doing this! Just shared to Facebook also. 🙂
Awww, thanks so much, Blayne!! 🙂 I appreciate the comment and the share. And you better let me know how it goes when K tries it. 🙂
Love your blog! New follower!
Thanks so much Cathy!
Love the idea of using giant marshmallows for this activity! I bet your kids LOVE coming to class. Thanks for sharing at Discover and Explore. I’m featuring this post today.
Thanks Shaunna! Yes, the kids really enjoyed painting with those giant marshmallows! Surprisingly, none of them were taste-tested prior to painting! 🙂 I am so excited — thank you for featuring this!
Just found your site, I love all that I have seen so far. During R week, we paint with matchbox or the like racecars. The kids love the tire tracks. It is a really fun activity!
Thanks so much for your kind words, Teresa! 🙂 Painting with cars is a ton of fun, too — I love seeing the different items kiddos can use to paint and create with.