Painting on the Fence

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The sun was streaming through our windows and onto the little patch of grass outside our patio this morning, and I just had to get us outside. To motivate Travis, I did something taboo – painting outside!

Of course plein air painting has a long tradition, but so many of our kids’ crafts nowadays are indoors at craft tables or classrooms or easels. There is something so beautiful about being outside with a paintbrush and paper.

To contain any mess, I poured a few paint colors into a foil tray and gave Travis thick brushes.

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Use painter’s tape to secure a large piece of craft paper to a fence. If you don’t have a fence, the outside wall of a house would probably work, just make sure you’re using washable paints!

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The large surface will encourage big strokes – sideways, up and down, or whatever else inspires your little artist.

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My little artist at work.

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All the more beautiful in the sunshine!

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Homemade Sidewalk Chalk Paint

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Are your kids bored of regular chalk? Mix up a batch of this easy homemade paint and they’ll have a blast applying it with paintbrushes all over the pavement.

To make the paint was good messy fun… So make sure you set down some newspaper!

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First, have your child add 1/4 cup cornstarch to a cup for each color desired.

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Add 1/4 cup water to each cup.

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Stir with a paintbrush, and then stir in about 8 drops of food coloring. We like the all-natural colors from Watkins.

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Travis had so much fun with the mixing that he wanted to make a few extra batches just for fun – good thing I had a big bin of cornstarch on hand!

Then it was time to take the paints outside. The colors weren’t as vivid as they looked in the cups, but we still managed to make pretty flowers…

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….sunshine…

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…and general squiggles.

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Whoops, a spill! Luckily, this stuff will rinse off easily with a hose or in the rain.

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What are you doing outside with the kiddos now that the weather is warm? Please share in the comments!

Hiking on an Ant Trail

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This adorable idea came to us from Barefoot Books’ Kids’ Garden kit. All you need is a 3-foot length of string, magnifying glasses and your imagination to have a magical moment.

Our new home has a patch of grass – a novelty after years with a balcony that overlooked a dumpster – so when I asked Travis if he wanted to pretend to be an ant outside just after breakfast, the answer was an enthusiastic yes!

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I cut a length of string about three feet long and we placed it in the grass with a few loops and coils. Using our magnifying glasses as we walked, we went inch by careful inch to try and see the world from an ant’s point of view.

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Some of our best finds were little roots of a bush:

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Tiny plants popping up from the soil:

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and dew drops sparkling on a spiderweb.

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It was fantastically fun to slow down and move so carefully, especially in this fast-paced world of ours.

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Do your child and yourself a favor and try this game soon!

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