Messy play is better than expected!

I’ve never been great with messy play, I get a bit twitchy that the paint is going to end up all over the walls and carpets.  I know they say they are “washable” but I never really trust them.  Little Bean was bought this easel for Xmas by my Mum (at my suggestion) and she loves it to bits but I keep all the paints and pens hidden in a top cupboard in the kitchen.

Messy Play with Playdoh is fun

This afternoon after Little Bean’s afternoon nap I told her we could play with her monkey playdoh which is a firm favourite and she excitedly ran down the stairs and we played with it for about half an hour until she said that she wanted to stop.  I was really keen to keep her away from the TV and get her “playing” so I asked her what she would like to do next as Beanie Boy was still sleeping, “painting” came the reply.  My heart sank to my feet and I tried to think of a million reasons why she couldn’t do it but then told myself to stop being so mean.

and so is painting Mummy!!

I took the easel out of the playroom and put it in the kitchen and she had so much fun.  I didn’t stress at all, I just let her get on with it, she did sponge painting, finger painting and good old brush painting for nearly an hour.  I’m so pleased that I said yes, we both had lots of fun and I feel more at ease with letting her do this again. Toddlers can actually learn so much from messy play activities.