First Fingerpainting Fun

Yesterday, Rhys and I tagged along on a trip out towards Cape Cod, Massachusetts where my husband had a business meeting.  We browsed around in some stores at Wareham Crossing while we waited for him and were excited about picking up Crayola finger paints.  The plan was to use the finger paints on Rhys' pumpkin for Halloween, as he is a bit too young to carve his own pumpkin at age 2.  Of course, this morning the finger paint was the first thing on Rhys' mind.  As a relatively inexperienced mom, I began to wonder what I had been thinking.  Rhys is my first child and I don't belong to a mother's group where I could pick up tips from seasoned moms.  Prior to Rhys' birth, we did lots of reading about the baby's development, as well as what life would be like once he arrived.  Once he arrived, there seemed to be little time for the same level of research - especially for activities like finger painting.  I didn't have plastic trays for the paint or even newspaper lying around the house so we improvised.  I used tissue paper on the dining room table and tore the tops off paper dixie cups to use as dipping containers for the paints.  I grabbed some blank sheets of paper, paper plates, napkins and a play smock Rhys already happened to own.  In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder how "washable" these washable finger paints would be.  Here goes nothing! 

Our first experience with the finger paints was very positive.  Rhys was pretty mild mannered throughout the experience.  He carefully dipped his fingers in the different colors and began his works of art.  He told me, "this is fun!" I demonstrated how to make hand prints and it was when I decided to show him how to mix the colors to make new colors that his alter ego - Rhys the Beast - shined through.  With only a minor melt down, I explained that we were sharing in the fun and that there was plenty of paint to go around.  He quickly calmed down and we continued to play.

After a while, Rhys told me he wanted to clean up.  And so he followed me to the bathroom sink without touching anything and with soap, warm water and some gentle scrubbing - our hands were clean.  Success!  Rhys and Mommy give both the experience and Crayola finger paints two thumbs up!