Pass the Paint

Pass the Paint is a variation on Musical Chairs that allows all the kids in the class to paint with every color, practice their passing and listening skills, and cuts down on the number of paint containers required. It gives the art teacher some control over the outcome without seeming controlling.

To play Pass the Paint, you need as many colors of paint in margarine tubs as there are students plus two. Each tub has one brush. If you want kids to cover large areas with a color, put in a big brush. To limit coverage, put in a fine brush. Arrange all tables in a continuous line, and place chairs only on one side of the line.

Have the kids help you review the "rules" for the game. Four-five year-olds LOVE rules:

1. You only paint when you hear the music.
2. The music doesn't begin until every student has some paint.
3. Everyone gets to use every color.
4. When the music stops, you put your brush back in the tub, and pass the tub to the next student in the agreed-upon direction.
5. Try very hard to pass without spilling.
6. The caboose student hands the tub of paint to the teacher, and the teacher jogs with that tub over to the first student in the engine. This is known as "The Art Teacher Exercise Program".

Suggestions:

1. If there is an empty chair, skootch the kids so the empty place is on the end. Designate this the chair of "The Invisible Ghost", or "The Invisible Dinosaur". When students ask what the ghost is doing, say, "drinking the paint like a milkshake", or "cutting his toenails", or "taking a nap".
2. I like to use cassette tapes like Putamayo World Music, opera overtures, or carousel calliopes. Classical music selections are fun because you can tell the kids that Holst's "Planets" represent different kinds of dinosaurs, or pretend to dance around like a flamingo ballerina.
3. As a tub of paint runs out, I add a primary color or white to have a new color to put back in the rotation.
4. When kids reach overload or paint holes through the paper, I let them go wash up. Other kids will keep going for a long time. This staggers the congestion at the sink.
5. If a student refuses to paint with pink, for example, he can just jolly well wait until the paints are passed again. Most kids would rather paint than wait for a color that isn't sissy, or whatever. 6. Please let me know what innovations you add!