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Home / Early Learning / Preschool Arts and Crafts / Preschool Art Projects – Painting with Gears

Preschool Art Projects – Painting with Gears

Shared by Mary Catherine 12 Comments

Trying out new preschool art projects is something my students always seem to enjoy!  Recently, I wanted to try something different.  Ideally, it would encourage the children to think outside the box when it came to art tools.  That line of thinking reminded me of My Nearest and Dearest’s amazing painting machine.  Since the toy tools were being used in another classroom, I focused in on other “tools” for the children to use.  That’s when I saw the toy gears!

Preschool Art Projects - colorful gears ready for painting

Related: Easy Art for Kids with Dot Art

Table of Contents

  • Trying out new preschool art projects with gears and paint!
  • Done-for-You Preschool Resources

Trying out new preschool art projects with gears and paint!

My boys and girls adore building and creating with the toy gears already.  They’re also used to my “creative license” when it comes to their preschool art projects!  So I knew they wouldn’t bat an eye at using gears to paint.

Preschool Art Projects - Painting with Gears

Materials Used
I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.
Toy gears – 1 of each color
Paint brushes
Poster putty
Tempera paint – to match each color gear
White construction paper

Preschool Art Projects - Getting the gear paint brushes ready to go

Set Up
1. I used poster putty to attach the ends of the paintbrushes to the gears.
2. Then I poured a bit of each color paint into bowls.
3. I placed the gears next to the appropriate colors, with the construction paper to the side.

Preschool Art Projects - an end result of painting with gears and brushes

How the Kids Painted
As usual, I had an audience as I was setting up this activity!  I love that the students are so into trying out new art experiences.  🙂  I didn’t give the kiddos any particular direction as they sat down to paint with the gears.  Some of the children decided to create rainbows with the gears.  One of my girls was very particular about where she placed her painted gears.

Preschool Art Projects - creating a rainbow while painting with gears

Others just enjoyed painting with all of the colors all over the paper.  Some were more focused on just one or two colors, stamping the gears over and over on the paper.  A few twirled the gears around to paint, but not nearly as many as I expected!

Preschool Art Projects - Painting with Gears

Still more kids decided they’d rather use the paintbrush attached to the gears.  They painted with the brushes, then flipped the paintbrush and painted with the gears.  A few only used the paintbrushes, eschewing the gears entirely.

Preschool Art Projects - Painting with Gears

One of my girls was so excited to create a letter using the gears!  It was near my birthday, so she painted an M for my first name.  I admit I was pretty tickled by it as well!

Preschool Art Projects - Painting with Gears

Early Learning Skills
Preschool art projects, such as this one, allow children to touch on a variety of important skills.  Remember, young children learn through playing and creating and exploring!  Below are some items my kiddos worked on while painting with gears:

  • Fine motor skills
  • Colors
  • Patterns
  • Creativity
  • Language skills
  • Letters

Do you have any fun preschool art projects to share – especially process-based art experiences?  I would love to hear about them in the comments below!

Done-for-You Preschool Resources

Planning meaningful lessons for students week after week, all while balancing other teaching responsibilities and a personal life, can be a daunting task. That’s where Preschool Teacher 101 comes in to save you time!

Preschool Teacher 101 is excited to share with you some amazing lesson plans, activity packs, and other resources made specifically for preschool. We offer a wide variety of themes that are frequently used in preschool classrooms as well as some less common (but super interesting) themes. Click on the images below to learn more about some of our products that could incorporate gears!

New robot lesson plan cover.
Robots Lesson Plans
Transportation Lesson Plans
Hickory Dickory Dock lesson plans preschool resource cover.
Hickory Dickory Dock Lesson Plans

Join The Pack from Preschool Teacher 101 today for exclusive access to our amazing products. And we even have three different membership options to suit your needs!

Filed Under: Preschool Arts and Crafts Tagged With: Process Art, Robots

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  1. Emma says

    February 20, 2014 at 12:54 am

    I love finding unique things to paint with and gears is one I haven’t heard of. I’m surprised more kids didn’t use the twirl method – that’s the first way I thought of. And so sweet of that little girl to make a letter for you with the gears – she must have been so proud!

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      February 25, 2014 at 3:59 pm

      Yes, Emma, I thought the swirling method would be something they’d try right away! I just love watching as they explore things like this. And, yes, my little girl who created the M was soooooo proud of it. 🙂 Thanks for the kind words!

      Reply
  2. Samantha @ Stir the Wonder says

    February 20, 2014 at 1:39 pm

    Great idea to stick the ends of the paint brushed in the gears! When we did this my son wasn’t too fond of getting paint on his fingers and therefore didn’t paint very long! I think we will have to try it again using your idea!

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      February 25, 2014 at 4:00 pm

      Thanks, Samantha! I am a messy person, myself, so I knew I would make a mess if it didn’t have the paintbrushes attached. I think it added a different dimension to it for the kids, especially those who didn’t want to just paint using the gears. Let me know if you and your son try it out anytime soon! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Cindy says

    February 25, 2014 at 11:34 am

    where did you get the gears, please?

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      February 25, 2014 at 3:35 pm

      Hi Cindy! We have the gears on-hand in our school workroom. I’ve seen them at local toy stores, chain stores, and teacher resource stores.

      They can also be purchased through Amazon (affiliate links included here) — a smaller set or a larger set.

      Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      February 25, 2014 at 3:39 pm

      You can also find them through Discount School Supply (more affiliate links) —
      Gears! Gears! Gears! – 95 Piece Set
      ,
      Gears! Gears! Gears! Lights and Action Set – 121 Pieces
      , and
      Gears! Gears! Gears! – 150 Piece Set

      Reply
  4. Goitseone Dikeme says

    February 25, 2014 at 1:57 pm

    They are nice but where can i find gear toys in Botswana

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      February 25, 2014 at 3:42 pm

      Honestly, I’m unsure as to where you can find these beads near Botswana. Do you order via Amazon? If so, the links above should work for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help, but perhaps some of my other readers will be able to point us both in the right direction! Additionally, perhaps just checking local stores or find some other items that you’re comfortable using with the kiddos as different painting tools. Thanks so much for popping by!

      Reply
  5. Karen says

    February 26, 2014 at 4:47 am

    Hi I work in a pre-school and nursery this has given me an idea for the children to print spring flowers thanks for your amazing blogs keep them coming we all love them ( my email should be lower case)

    Karen Jones

    Chester England

    Reply
  6. MKS says

    December 16, 2015 at 11:15 am

    With my class of 4s and 5s I do a lot with tissue paper. I color glue (water it down some), provide paint brushes, and scraps of white tissue paper and allow them to create.

    Reply
    • Mary Catherine says

      July 23, 2016 at 6:17 pm

      Love that!

      Reply
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My name is Mary Catherine, and I love to share meaningful {and fun} learning activities for kiddos! Feel free to browse and stay awhile!

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