I used poster paint and some acrylic paint because I had them at home.

They both work well for printing too, especially on thin paper like newspaper or printer paper.

Have a look around see what you have and experiment making marks with objects, this blue stripe flag was made with a fork. (Be careful of small objects with children who put things in their mouths.)

For younger children or children with SEN art activities can be over very quickly. The children I
work with have SEN so I break the sessions down by offering different materials to slow the
process down. We start with scribbling in pencil, then pen, then add in some more sensory
materials like chalk pastels or crayons, then a little paint (painting doesn’t always have to leave a
huge mess: limit the paint = limit the mess.) Collage can be a good calming activity if you pre-cut
the pieces and then pass them one at a time, you can have a tug of war, and then create a paper
storm by sprinkling the last bits of paper like rain. If you have enough pieces, this is often the
most exciting part. If glue is too distracting then you can glue the individual pieces and pass
them ready to stick on.

If you are happy to unleash large quantities of paint in your home it is a great sensory activity
poured into a tray, hands, arms and faces get covered. If you have a lot of paint on paper, it will
get soggy, screwing up the paper is a nice activity and tearing and some pieces can be rescued
and dried to make your flags.

For older children and adults this can be as complex an activity as you make it, the flags are a
place to put some of your creativity. At the moment we are dealing with lots of difficult emotions,
making art can help to understand what we are feeling and share it. The flags could be covered in
words as well as drawing, colour and photographs.

The children at The St Christopher's School each did an individual drawing and then screen
printed parts of the Union Jack on top making, 90 metres of this fabulous bunting.

Happy creating, Ali Ward