I'm always amused when art projects are labeled "Easy Painting for Kids!" because really THERE IS NO SUCH THING. Just thinking about the set up and clean up and paint-covered bodies is exhausting. In reality, it's not easy, it takes a lot of time, and often/usually/always makes a mess.
And yet... these boys loooooove to paint. And I know it's good for them. So every once in a while we suck it up and get messy. Here's what we did today!
We started out with three blank canvases and some painter's tape. I taped a bunch of stripes of varying widths and told the boys they had to pick a different color to go in each white stripe.
Big Brother and Middle Brother did a great job staying in the lines! Little Brother did a less-great job, but this sort of project is very forgiving and even the unintentionally blended colors turned out just fine.
Shirts off is always a good idea. Acrylic paint doesn't always come out of clothes, we may or may not have learned this the hard way. Oops.
We've also done a similar project before where I used painter's tape to write their names on the canvas, had them paint all around the letters, and then peeled off the tape once the paint was dry.
Here they are once the boys finished painting!
Then, we cleaned the brushes and the table and the floor and the hands and the bellies and the noses and the ears (don't ask me how it got there, I really don't know) and waited for it to dry.
Finally, the paint dries, the drum rolls, and... we peel off the tape! It's super exciting especially when three little boys are watching you with wide eyes and mouths agape. There were lots of squeals and smiles and we'll probably do this again, because yes, it's worth the mess.
Comments