Plaster and Paint

My children are super lucky that we have friends and family who buy them things that we, as parents, might flinch from. For example, consider the logistical nightmare of organising painting for two boys on a rainy day... but it's well worth the effort. A. got a craft set for his birthday from his Grandma S. - to make a plaster car and paint it. I am super lucky that I have an involved husband who likes spending time with his boys. The first day involved making the plaster and there was enough left in the pack to make another car, but no other mold, so I had a hunt in the cupboards for some sort of kitchen mold and found silicone gingerman baking molds, so we used the leftover plaster to make S. a gingerbread man to decorate.

A day later the plaster was ready to paint. After  cleaning off the kitchen table and covering it in cardboard and newsprint, setting up a drop-cloth on the dining room floor, and dressing the children in "painting shirts" (some of my old clothes) they were ready to go. This all just shows how far my children have come. Now he is 5, A. is finally at the stage where he can sometimes defer gratification. He is focused on the product of his work and wants grand results. I was very worried that he was going to get upset if his car didn't turn out like the picture on the box so I was careful to try and help him frame his results so that he wouldn't feel let down. "The picture on the box is just one suggestion... you can do it however you want, really funny, or really cool, or even something like Vanellope's kart in Wreck-It Ralph! What matters is that it's all yours and you can do it how you want."

The boys had a great time under their father's close supervision, which was quite necessary as S. needs to be reminded to clean his brushes between colours to avoid huge blow ups when sharing paints with his brother. A., however was keen to let his paints dry between coats so that the colours would not all mix together. S. liked to mix the colours and started with black and added green and red and purple. It took two sessions on different days to finish the looks and only a little bit of help from Mum and Dad. The boys were very keen to make their projects look special so they insisted on adding glitter!

Projects like this are great for A. because they get him using his fine motor skills. He loves to decorate and customise but likes to have a clear idea of what he is creating, so it's a great way to get him used to making mistakes and not worrying about things being just-so. If he has unrealistic expectations he can be a perfectionist and can be so daunted by things that he doesn't try. Having Dad home to interact with is always a plus too. This month Dad is on late shifts so he often doesn't get home until the boys are ready for bed, so they have been having a hard time coming to grips with not having him home much of the time.

Having positive experiences like this let both the boys and me know that painting is not so difficult and it is rewarding for all of us.