Bath Tub Paint Party

A few weeks ago I was visiting one blog that I do like a lot - The Idea Room - and saw her post about a fun time that she had with her kids painting at the bath tub and I loved the idea. I decided to do something similar to that with Lucas so I created my own paint with him and we had lots of fun.

To make the paint we used:
Flour
Kids shower gel
Food coloring

In a plastic container pour a little of the flour, ( I am terrible with giving recipes up, I never know how much of this or that I used, sorry, you can blame it on me), twice that amount of the shower gel and then color it with food coloring.  I used shower gel just in case it gets to his eyes, so I knew it would not be a big of a deal.

I gave him some brush, sponges and let him play. He painted our entire tub; tried to paint myself, his toys. What a good messy bath he had! I enjoyed as much as he did watch him playing at the tub. I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't eating that.

In the end, I gave him some clean sponges and asked him to clean it up. He is such a great helper!!!! Seriously, Lucas likes everything clean and organized and I love it on him. It is funny because sometimes, when the house is messy, he will be picking things and organizing it as he is playing. Just like his mom, LOL.

What a good mess!!!

I am not the best painter, and to be honest I am closer to be the worse painter ever, but I still love to paint and believe me, sometimes I do hang some of my “beautiful Paints” at home.  

Lucas paints/draws are something else. I love all of it. He still on the phase of circles, dots, learning that the mark on the paper is a consequence of his movements, moving his entire body with his hands to draw, using both hands some of the times. He is learning, he is my little scientist that is testing some new things every day, and I feel like the luckiest mother in the earth to be able to experiment it with him.

Here is an idea for all moms: Once a month or so give your kid a paper and a pencil and let him draw what he wants without any interfere. When he gets a little more verbal you can ask him about his draw and write his words on the BACK of his paper, and date it. You will be amazed with his development and how cute is to see it. I used to do that with my students in Brazil and give it to their parents in the end of the year. That was a good way to keep track of their development and a good memory book to parents to keep forever.

Last week we decided to paint. I am always paint on my kitchen since is too cold to paint outside and my kitchen floor is very easy to clean, so I don’t care if he spills paint all over it.

I gave him a big paper, paint, brush and sponges. He did like the brushes and did try the sponges, but what he loves the most was to use his body to paint. He first put his fingers on the paint, than his hands, his legs, feet…oh, what a good mess!!!

Let's paint!!!

Lucas loves colors, things with texture, smell.. . Everything is new and fun for him. He is discovering a new world everyday and I try to let him experiment as many things as possible. He is very curious about everything around him, and that is how he learns new things. He learns by touching things, holding, looking, listening, tasting, and feeling everything in sight.  Today I decided to let him touch, smell, make a mess in our house and I love the results of it. We had a lot of fun together and I am sure, he learned a lot today.

I mixed a little bit of glue with colored sugar and water. I had only two colors in my house, I wish I had more, but that was ok. Next time we will have the entire rainbow here.

I prepared the mix while he was taking his nap, but if your kid is a little older than mine I would suggest you mix it with him. I am sure he will like to see the white glue turning red, blue, green…

What did you do today with your kid?

Throw your own painting party

A few weeks ago some friends and I decided to have a painting party at my house. We have been trying to go to sips and strokes for a long time, but with my husband working long hours and having no one else to stay with Lucas, I decided to bring the party here.
One of my friends went to wall mart and bought all the stuff that we would need, what ended up being around $6 dollars per person, a lot less than we would pay going out. You can also find pre-stretched canvas online for a cheap price.
We went online, picked a picture that we liked and that was it. We had so much fun, we laugh a lot and,  I really think that it turned out pretty good. I even kept my paint. Maybe I will hang it somewhere one day! : )