Sometimes I'm in the mood for a mess, sometimes I'm not. Ya know what I mean? There are days when I just don't want to have to clean up anything else. But, I've come to the conclusion that messes are good sometimes, especially creative ones...as much for me as the kids. They need to create and go a little crazy sometimes and it's fun for them, and I want them to have fun and experience things. Monday was one of those "in the mood for a mess" days for me. I decided to mix up some fingerpaint and let them go crazy. With some guidelines of course.
1. The paint stayed on the cookie sheet or plastic drop cloth.
2. The paint was not to go on our face or in our mouth.
fair enough, right?

Here's "A." She enjoyed this very much!

tiny fingers dipping.

"K" was not so sure he liked the feeling of it.

"A" on the other hand loved how it felt.

It wasn't that horrible of a mess although, when it dried a little it was a bit tricky to wipe up. A little elbow grease did the trick. I also use a plastic tablecloth that I recylcled from one of "K's" birthdays that I use for art projects. For smocks, I made holes is large garbage bags, which can be reused for future messes. :)
To make your own fingerpaint; mix together equal parts flour and cold water.
Separate into small bowls and add food coloring. That's it.
What do you do when you're in a messy mood? I love to hear your ideas!