It takes guts to get really messy with your children. It is not for the faint hearted…or the impatient…ahem…..or for those who just do not enjoy the ‘getting messy’ process. For me, I love seeing the excitement on the children’s faces just when you announce ‘we are going to do painting!!!’ That in itself makes it worthwhile. That doesn’t mean I don’t get stressed, cry from frustration and question my sanity….
Painting with Feet
Recently the children and I did a larger scale painting exercise. BB wanted to make paper chains for his birthday party, and we just love 
paper chains and painting so why not mix the two!
This was a nice little distraction from the thought that I am about to start cleaning out our house for our big move, and probably won’t have a lot of time in coming weeks to do fun stuff like this.
I rolled out a long piece of art paper, had a variety of tools – sponges, rope, rollers etc. Put the kids in old clothes. Then we got messy….
Words of Advice
Beautiful Mess
It’s all in the planning and preparation – think of it like a military operation
Plan in advance – what are you going to do. How will it work, where will finished items go to dry so little fingers don’t get back into it, how will you clean up
Paper Chains
Preparation – for our recent exercise I had two big tubs – the kind you put ice and drinks in for parties. They were half filled with water. I had two towels on hand. I had the laundry door unlocked for quick and easy access to a wet area if required. I had all my paints, trays, painting implements ready to go.
Explain expectations to your children clearly – Do not eat the paint. Do not paint your sister/brother/cat/me/house…you get the picture. After we are finished you can play with the hose and swim in the tubs.
Accept that mess will happen and children’s interest will wain after a very short time. The cost benefit ratio may be questioned. Then you need to get into the spirit of it, enjoy the moment, take gorgeous photos and laugh out loud.
Oh, and number 1 piece of advice when doing messy play like painting – never ever leave your young unattended with messy items for longer than a nanosecond…..
8 Comments
I love how you say it's like a military operation lol, you are braver than me! Looks fun though.
It is a lot of fun. I miss those days. It's a bit more difficult over here but we are finding our way. Thanks for checking it out.
My daughter really doesn't like mess, most likely because we don't do messy play. I think we need to start lol
It doesn't need to be a big operation like the one I have written about. Just do something you are comfortable with. Some coloured paper and a glue stick are often a good start. Controlled mess! Good Luck.
The best times are the messy times! And perfect or not, they make the BEST memories. 🙂 My grown children are in their 30's and 40's now and still talk about times like the one you described, and the fun they had.
I agree, my happy memories from childhood are the ones where I got messy.
Brilliant post. Looks like a very messy day. Just the way they should be.
Thanks for taking the time to comment Berg.