Draw a shape, letter or picture on a sheet of white card-stock with a white crayon. Pass one to each child. Give the children water color paints and instruct them to paint all over the card stock. The design will magically appear. Write each child's name on the card-stock for a name recognition activity. Let the children draw their own designs onto the card-stock with a white crayon as a follow up activity.
Painter's tape, available at hardware stores, is an easy-releasing type of masking tape. Use the tape to create shapes, simple pictures or letters on a piece of white construction paper. Give preschoolers a choice of colored tempera paint to paint the paper and the tape. When the paintings are dry, let the children remove the tape to reveal unpainted paper underneath. Display the magical results.
Add glitter or salt to paint for a surprising texture and a magical, sparkling effect when the paint is dry. Stir 1/2 cup of glitter or salt into 1 cup of any color tempera paint. Use the glitter or salt and paint combination for winter scenes, fireworks paintings and fairy-land art.
Stir a package of fruit-flavored, unsweetened drink mix into 1 cup of white tempera paint. The drink mix will tint the paint and give it a fruity scent that lingers when the paint is dry. Use fruity-paints when making pictures of fruit or to give an extra, magic touch to a rainbow picture when learning about leprechauns.
Laundry bluing, a liquid additive for the wash that restores bright whiteness to graying or yellowing clothes, is the secret ingredient in disappearing paint. Find laundry bluing in the detergent section of grocery or hardware stores. Gather your preschoolers on a day that is suitable for outside painting. Mix 1/4 tsp. laundry bluing into 2 cups of water. Let children paint the sidewalk or other concrete surface with the blue paint. When it dries, the paint will disappear.