I have to be honest and say that the morning started off a little rough. I had a night of "pregnancy insomnia," as I call it, and couldn't sleep until 2AM. Nathan woke up earlier than usual, before 6:30AM! I would have muddled through but he was in the rarest crabby mood! Quite a recipe for disaster! But we made the best of it. Today's adventure was learning about art. Up until this point, Nathan had only been exposed to crayons/coloring books. There are so many other forms that I wanted him to try!
We started off with fingerpainting. About 6 months ago, I had picked up some craft supplies for practically free and we hadn't used them yet. So we were able to use some foam board and fingerpaints today! I started by just giving him one color of his choice. Then I realized, who cares if the color mix? Why stifle his creativity! So I opened them all up and he made the most beautiful painting for me! It was like he was born to fingerpaint. He dipped his fingers in and went to work! I am so blessed not to have a kid that's afraid to get dirty. We would be missing out on so many things!
After cleaning up, we tried out some markers! On Monday, we picked up a pumpkin at a local farmstand. I thought he'd have fun decorating it. But he actually wasn't too into it and preferred to color on the paper I had put underneath. Hey, art is art so I let him have at it.
He was starting to get crabby again so we decided to take a nap. How refreshing! When I went to take him out of the crib, he was back to normal! That big, happy smiling face was so uplifting!
We went out to get the mail and I had him pick off a few leaves from our Maple tree. We were going to make some leaf prints! We had to start by sharpening some pencils.(I haven't done that in over a decade!) I showed him how to drag the pencil on the paper to make the leaf imprint come through. Quite honestly, this one might have been a little beyond him. But we did have fun tickling each other with the leaves so it was still all good!
Even though the day started off rough, we still had so much fun! And I now have a new masterpiece for my bedroom. It's something I'll treasure forever, as I'll think about today. Our overall expenses for the day was $1.25 for the pumpkin. Had I not bought the foam board and fingerpaints prior, I would have included those in the total, too. (Maybe an extra $1?) All the same, I am going to say we have $.75 to roll-over to another week. And the pumpkin is going to make a fun carving session with Daddy later!
I just started reading through a book called First Art: Art Experiences for Toddlers and Twos. It looks good so far! You may want to check out a copy from your library if you need any art ideas, if you have little ones.
I hope your Thursday with your kids/family was fun, too!
It looks like you had lots of fun Jaycie! I'm not sure what kind of markers you used, but Crayola makes a wonderful washable marker.
ReplyDeleteDaniel prefers coloring with markers over crayons, so we use these all the time. They clean up so easy off the floor, the table or even skin. I usually take his shirt off, so I'm not sure how they clean off clothes.
We got them for only $1.00 per box back when Target was having their back to school sale.
Hi Debbie!
ReplyDeleteMy Mom had bought these Crayola markers called "Pip Squeaks." They are real small, which were perfect for Nathan's hands. I sat next to him and wouldn't let him have the caps (choking hazard!)but I thought the little markers worked well. I was so amazed at how well everything washed up! Even the paint. I still haven't washed Nathan's shirt but I am sure it will come clean, too.
Don't you love school sales! I had to stay away from them after awhile because I wanted to buy up EVERYTHING! :) I think I am going to get him those Crayola Washable markers for Christmas. Like Daniel, Nathan really seemed to like coloring with them.
~Jaycie