Practice Cleaning the Brushes Between Colors

• Children become so involved in their artwork that they don't always clean the paintbrush sufficiently between colors, creating a murky, watery paint supply. Give each child a bowl of water, a paintbrush, a piece of white paper and paper plate with two dime-sized tempera paint globs. Have them paint for 30 seconds with one of the colors before instructing them to put the brush in the bowl of water. Show them with your own paintbrush how to vigorously swish the brush under water in circular motions until they count to five. Have each child make one stroke with his wet paintbrush on the white paper and explain that when your brush is clean, your paintbrush will just leave water. If your brush leaves colors you need to swish it again.
  
  

Demonstrate the Consequences of Not Cleaning Brushes Between Colors

• Children learn by comprehensive examples so demonstrating the result of not cleaning the brush between colors resonates better than standard the instructions. Ask one child to be your helper while you pretend to be the student. Begin painting in green and then announce you really want red and dip your brush in the red paint without cleaning the brush. Apply the red/green paint to your paper so the children see how it turns into an unattractive brown. Ask the class what happened. Finally, note that the other student's picture also became discolored because you put your green brush in the red paint without rinsing.
  
  

Practice Cleaning Brushes in the Sink

• Teach the children the importance of properly cleaning one's paintbrush after painting so that others have soft brushes, too. Gather the students around the sink and show them how to massage the bristles under the running water for five seconds. Show them how to check their paintbrushes by stroking the bristles on the back of their hands. Clean bristles mean they're finished, but a brush that leaves a tinted moisture trail on their hand requires further cleaning.
  
  

Demonstrate the Consequences of Not Properly Cleaning the Brushes Afterward

• Dry an improperly washed paintbrush the night before class so you have a ready visual. Gather the students at the sink while you preten" to clean a paintbrush by swiping it under the running water twice before setting it aside. Ask the kids what they think will happen to the paintbrush overnight. Explain how the paint dries the bristles together and prevents other children from using them. Finally, pass around the example brush and let the kids feels how stiff and inoperable the bristles become without proper cleaning.