One rainy morning a few weeks ago, I got the brilliant idea to do a major finger-painting project with the boy. (“Who knows where thoughts come from? They just appear!”) I called our friend, Tracie, to see if she wanted to bring her son over to join in the fun. She accepted the invitation, and I started making preparations for fun.
There used to be a children’s resale store down the road from us. It was called The Pig Pen, and Tara, the owner, had half the shop set up as an art studio where you could take your child(ren), pay a small fee, and do arts and crafts for the day. During her going out of business sale, I scored a HUGE role of butcher-type paper and a bunch of finger paints. Until that day, I had only used the butcher paper up on the counter. There, Jude could stand on his Learning Tower
I ended up with a palette that was approximates 5′ x 5′. I put down two layers of the paper, and taped down the edges to stop it from shifting. The next thing I did was pour six different colors of finger paint into small plastic containers for easy access.
Then, shortly before Kainoa and his mom showed up, I stripped the boy down to his diaper because honestly, clothes just get in the way of finger painting, ya know?
The boys painted for about half an hour. They painted their bodies and ran across the paper. Tracie and I did a fair amount of painting ourselves. I mean, we had that HUGE palette and all that paint ready to go. When you’re surrounded by that much fun, you just can’t help but dive in.
When the boys’ attention span was well surpassed, Tracie and I pulled up their masterpiece and moved it into Jude’s room to dry. She took Kainoa upstairs for a bath, and I wrangled Jude into the shower.
Now that the weather is turning cooler, I’m gearing up for some indoor fun. I would really like to stock up on all different kinds of art supplies for the winter months, but don’t know where to start. Do you have a favorite arts and crafts store you like to patronize? Any suggestions for online stores where I can get supplies on the cheap?
