Vroom Paint Vroom

Sometimes it's difficult to find a single activity that will satisfy both a 4 year old and a 20 month old. Eli still doesn't understand enough to have a decent attention span and Elina can get bored with certain things. Well, last week I found something that kept both kids occupied for almost 90 minutes! It took a little bit of prep work and clean up, but it was totally worth it. So, what did I do with the kids?

I gave the kids some washable paints, toy cars, paper, and paintbrushes. Elina got a smock and Eli was stripped down to his diaper (I didn't want to create more laundry for myself). Then I let them go crazy with the paints. Eli loved dipping the car tires into the paint and then "painting" on the paper. He had tracks all over the place. Then he started experimenting with paint on his arms. He had a blast with it.

At first, Elina painted the tires with a paintbrush (since she's more prim and proper), but the tire tracks didn't hold her attention as well. She decided to just take the brush and start painting the "right" way. It was fine to me because the kids were both in heaven. While they painted for 45 minutes, I managed to unload the dishwasher, clean up our breakfast mess, and clean the counters! I couldn't have asked for more....oh, but there was MORE!

When they started winding down, I told Elina that she and Eli would have to clean the cars in a "car wash." I just ran a bubble bath in our big garden tub, threw in some buckets and washcloths, stripped the kids' clothes/diaper off, and threw the kids into the tub with the painted cars. So while they were in the "car wash," I managed to get dinner in the slow cooker and clean up my closet and bathroom. What a productive day it turned out to be!
I'm going to try to do more painting with the kids from now on because they both love it and enjoy doing it together. It also gives them something interesting to do when I need to be more productive. It also makes for some creative pieces to hang up on the wall.

So to all those moms out there who need something to occupy the child(ren) so you can get stuff done...give them something messy to do and then throw them into the tub! It works like a charm!