Water Colors

Recently, Riley has become interested in anything art--crayons--she only eats the brown ones--I think they remind her of chocolate; markers; colored pencils; Play Dough--her "dough dough;" paint; pens--she enjoys writing notes on herself just like her dad; and chalk. She keeps herself entertained for minutes on end. So today I decided to introduce water colors. She was so excited to paint. We got out the paper and brushes, which she recognized, but when we got out the paints themselves and the water, she was a little confused. When I tried to show her that you had to dip the paint brush in water first and then in the paint, she got upset. After several attempts I decided it might be best to just get the paints wet and let her paint. But then she became obsessed with the idea of the water in the paints and mixing them. And then the cup of water looked fun with all of the swirling colors. Eventually the cup of water spilled all over her--"uh-oh mama"-- and her arms and face were covered in paint and we decided it was time to be done. The sheet of paper, however, did have three or four brush strokes.