Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Water & Marker Painting

Today is my first post for Toddler Time Tuesday!  It's part of my weekly series that I just started.  Each week Little Man and I will be trying a new activity.  It might be working on a new developmental skill, arts and crafts, or doing something fun!

This weeks activity was based off some "idea cards" we got for Christmas.  The cards are called Bright and Beyond - Playtime Activities - Age 1
.  Since Little Man is 1, we have the "Age 1" cards but they have them all the way from "baby" to "preschool".  Some of the ideas seem a little advanced for Little Man right now.  But I'm sure within a couple months we'll get there.  

The simplicity of these cards are awesome.  You don't need to go out and buy a lot of stuff to complete the activities.  You will probably find everything you need laying around your house.  This makes it handy if you need to do a last minute activity or if you're on a budget and don't want to go out and spend a lot of money to keep your child entertained.  

The activity we did was called Water & Marker Painting




To do this project just draw shapes or pictures on a paper towel with markers. *  Let your little one dip a paint brush into plain water and then show him/her how to put the wet paintbrush on the picture.  They'll have a fun time watching the colors bleed together.  Although I'm not a childhood education expert, I'd have to say this helps with their motor skills and probably teaches them some cause and effect.  

The best part of this project:  it's very clean! I didn't have to worry about him getting paint on the walls, the floor, his clothes, or in  his mouth.  I'll admit that he did get curious about sticking his hands in the water bowl, and we did ended playing tug-of-war when he decided he wanted to pick the water bowl up off the table.  But hey, it's water.  No harm, no foul.  

I also discovered I need to think of more "boy" things to draw.  After years and years of drawing girly flowers, butterflies, hearts and rainbows I think I need to expand my artistic boundaries and learn how to draw more trucks, and cars. hehe

Little Man had such a fun time doing this activity!  He really caught on fast and learned how to dip the brush in the water and put it on the paper. He definitely didn't want to stop "painting". This will definitely be an activity we repeat again!

*  If you have older children, they can draw the pictures themselves.


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6 comments:

  1. wow! what a really smart idea! my letti is only 10 months old, but we have to try this in a couple months!! currently i'm sure she would try to pick up the papertowel and eat it. lol.

    saw your link on a beautiful mess, and hope to be new friends!
    i mommy blog too!

    <3xojo

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  2. Thank you, I'm glad you liked the post. I'm sure your little one would have loads of fun eating the paper towel! ;D Your blog is beautiful! I checked it out and I like it already! I will definitely be visiting your blog often! Looks like you're doing the Photo a Day challenge from Fat Mum Slim also. Your pictures are really good!

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  3. Wonderful idea. Thanks for sharing on Monday Madness.

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    1. Thanks for having hosting. I forgot to mention your blog on my post. I'll fix it ;D

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  4. I just got these cards yesterday and love love love the ideas. They are so simple yet, I know little guy will have fun with them. Thanks for sharing these! ;)

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    1. I'm so glad you like them! I like the ideas because they are simple, too. You don't have to go out and buy a bunch of stuff because you probably already have everything in your home. I really want to do the activity where you tape the paper towel roll to the side of a chair and have your little one drop something through it. I think Little Man will get a kick out of that one!

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