Pintor

We recently found some cheap finger paints at Target and yesterday Joaquin and I decided to use them. It is no exaggeration to say that he loved it. Once he discovered he could put his whole hand in the little jar and slop a bunch of paint on the paper there was no turning back. I think he just liked the feel of the paint squishing beneath his fingers. He kept smearing it around and saying 'cool'. You can even see his lips forming the word in this picture. However, it quickly became an incredible mess. I'm not sure I can adequately do it justice, hopefully these pictures help. We started out with three full pots; red, yellow and pink. This is what they looked like when Joaquin was finished. That's also what the table and his paper looked like. Apparently when you mix red, pink, and yellow together really, really well a deep reddish orange is what you get - everywhere. And this is what Joaquin looked like after his exertions (I give myself major props for the massive paint shirt). So in case any of you need them, here are some rules I formulated for finger painting with two-year olds.

1. Never put out the paint pot - always put a pile of paint (yes finger paint has a very sticky, solidy texture) on a paper plate.

2. Always, always wear a paint shirt and nothing else. Everything not covered by the paint shirt will be painted, and even parts that were might be (it's a August miracle!)

3. Never do this activity over a non-tile or linoleum floor.

4. Do not let the child down on their own for any period of time before clean-up occurs! In fact, don't even let the child attempt to climb down from the chair, pick them up!

5. Do not attempt unless you have a backyard and a hose. There is no other possible means of clean-up that will result in actual clean-up.

6. Don't worry, finger paint washes off tables, chairs, cabinets, door frames and curtains. (And amazingly enough the washcloth used to clean the above surfaces).