Painless Painting
Ever since I visited a Montessori classroom, I have been using this method to enable my small children to paint pictures as often as possible with as little trouble for me, and without a permanently messy table or corner. I keep individual colors of watercolor paint, cut-up rectangles of paper, a small brush and a bottle cap on a small tray on top of the refridgerator. When my children need something to do, I take it down and let them paint. The key to low mess is keeping the amounts of paint and water small. Like the Montessori teacher suggested, I cut up plastic strips of watercolors from the store into individual colors so that small children can focus on one task: using the brush correctly. I show them how to 'tickle' the paint gently with the brush with the very end of the bristles in order to make a painting. Older children can have more colors so that they can experiment with mixing colors (what do yellow and blue make when you put them together?) or with creati