Tips for painting with toddlers

It's easier than you think, not nearly as messy, and more fun than you imagine. Over here at Leilaland, we keep it simple.  The projects we do are kid-centered and even the least crafty mom can implement them successfully. 

Following these simple tips will make painting with toddlers a breeze.

1. Choose two primary colors to paint with and the color they make when mixed.  This way your child's project will not turn out a muddy brown color.  Sometimes I add white paint into the mix if we're not painting on white paper.
2. Choose simple painting tools.  I like to use Q-tips, sponge tipped brushes, or fingers.  Traditional paint brushes can be tough for little hands to manage because they usually have a long handle.  Brushes also require a light touch or your child will end up smashing the brush part down and painting with the hard handle resulting in torn paper. 
3. Model how to use the painting tools.  Show your child what you expect them to do.  Show them what happens when you mix the colors and model different ways to use the painting tools.
4. Use large sheet of paper.  You can see print (or draw) a large simple shape for them to fill in or have they paint a plain piece of paper and cut it into the shape you want after it's dry. (Check out our Lucky Shamrocks here.)
5. Remove your child's clothing and put on a smock to protect their skin (and avoid an immediate bath).
6. Lower your expectations.  Your child's paining will not be perfect.  They will get a bit messy.  They will paint out of the lines.  They may be finished in 5 minutes or love painting page after page. 

Happy painting!

Have you had success painting with your toddler?  What tips can you share with me?

I'm here, I like it, and that's alright.

Last month I shared how I became a stay-at-home mom. I lost my job, and until recently I had a difficult time accepting my new role. Or at least that's what I thought.

Last week I got a message letting me know that I need to remove all my stuff from my classroom. They'll be needing the space this fall.  It's final...and it sure feels that way.

I'm a mess when it comes to my emotions. Anxiety is high, tears have been shed, feelings of anger and resentment resurface.  I miss my friends. I miss teaching. I miss the old Jen.

I'm surprised I feel this way because I do not want to work right now.  I really though I was over this!  I like being home with toddler Leila.  I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, literally.  I like my stay-at-home mom lifestyle.  I like the new Jen.

I am on a different path, headed in a different direction, than I pictured for myself, and that's alright.

It's okay to be glad that I'm not working.

It is perfectly fine to be a stay-at-home mom, and not love it or hate it.

It's okay to be happy.

How I got here

If you have been here awhile, you know that I consider myself a temporary stay-at-home-mom.

I never planned on staying home when I became a mom. My teaching career allowed me to work 180 days out of the year AND be home around 4pm. Sounded to me like a perfect way to do the all the things I love.

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. -John Lennon

Going back to work after my maternity was the toughest thing I ever had to do.

Not because I didn't want to leave my child, I was excited to go back to teaching. I was desperate to get some structure back into my life after three blurry months of newborn filled days. (You know the drill...eat, sleep, poop, cry. Never in the same order, yet always the same.)

Those six months of teaching were rough on me. I felt guilty leaving Leila and loving the young children in my class. Guilty that I arrived at school ten minutes before class started, and guilty that I rushed home right after school was over.

Ashamed that I still hadn't lost all the baby weight, I spent my afternoons pushing Leila in the stroller while my anxious mind raced with all of the things I thought I should be doing (washing pump parts, bottles, packing my lunch, lesson planning, cleaning house, changing the sheets, going grocery shopping, making dinner...)

I felt like I was giving 110% but no one was reaping the benefits.

I was running on empty.

I learned I would be laid off (for real that year) due to budget cuts and increased class size in a meeting I was, of course, late to. I sat in the back of the room sobbing, wondering if I could take more changes in my life. At the same time, I was relieved it was almost over and afraid I would fail at being a stay-at-home-mom.

This June I will be celebrating one year of being a stay-at-home-mom to my little Leila.

Sure, this new role has had it's challenges. I have struggled with my new identity, making mom-friends, finding a routine that works for us, and feelings of uncertainty when it comes to my teaching career.

These personal struggles, although not resolved, have changed me. They have shed light onto what's important to me.

Family. Friends. Love. Balance. ME!

Life can be difficult when you have a plans. It can be great when you realize you can change them.

Teacher Lee

That's what everybody calls her.

She is generous, kind, funny, and has a huge heart.

Leila loves going to Teacher Lee's Free Play-To-Learn™ Preschool every week.

***This is NOT a sponsored post. Teacher Lee is just really this great!***

I found this Mommy-and-Me preschool through a meet-up group I joined (thanks to all of your suggestions!) and have been going weekly ever since!

Each week Teacher Lee sets up a developmental preschool at three different locations in San Diego. We attend one just fifteen minutes from our home.

Parents are encouraged to learn and play with their children as they visit each learning center.

I also like to sit back and watch Leila interact with another child, or even watch her learn and play alone. She constantly buzzes around the room checking everything out.

There is no pressure, no feeling like you are playing "wrong", no set rules needed. Just a community of parents enjoying the moment with their child.

These pictures explain it all!

I am so happy to have found Teacher Lee!

Library


Block play


Easel painting


Puppet tent


Play-dough


Listening center


Arts and Crafts


Did I mention this is free?!? (Donations of $5 are recommended.)


Leila's current favorite thing to do at Teacher Lee is sit on the chairs. I swear she spends half the time we are there climbing up and getting down.

My current favorite part of Teacher Lee is circle time. I love that I am not the teacher up there. It's fun to be on the other side of things.

Teacher Lee leads the group though a variety of songs and finger-plays. It is so cool to watch these young children interact with her. She's very animated and silly too!

Leila sits for most of circle time, only occasionally trying to steal a closer look or running to my bag for a snack. We've been going to Teacher Lee for two months and I'm amazed how Leila can anticipate what comes next during the finger-plays. She sang aloud today and it made me laugh. Definitely the best way to end the class!

Circle time


I've invited two friends from the park to join us and their children loved Teacher Lee too! Hopefully they will be back for more.


Click to learn with Teacher Lee



Or visit Teacher Lee's Facebook page for more information.

Toddler art {St. Patrick's Day}

About a month ago we got messy for the first time mixing paint to make Valentines for friends and family. Since then I've stripped Leila down to her diaper, plopped her in her highchair, and let her loose to mix paint more than once. It's not really too messy, I swear!

I use a paper plate and put two primary colors touching on the plate. I use a paper plate because it sort of absorbs the paint blobs. (When Leila turns the plate over the paint stays on the plate.)

For our St. Patrick's Day shamrocks I used blue and yellow. On the other side of the plate I gave her a bit of green and white paint. Again, the two colors are touching each other to make it more likely she will mix them on her own.

You can paint with paint brushes, your fingers, sponge pieces, plastic forks, anything! We used Q-tips and they were the perfect size for her little hands. Leila loved making dots and circles. (It's so cute how she says "circle".)

You can see how she naturally mixed the colors without making a brown muddy looking mess on her paper. The color selection is key!


I found a shamrock pattern online because it was easier than trying to draw one the was good enough. After I cut the pattern out, I traced the shamrock on the back of the dry painted paper. (No pencil lines on the front!) I wrote Leila's name and the year on the from of each shamrock in a matching color.

Ta-da! All ready to be sent to the relatives for St. Patrick's Day.

Change

I finally love staying at home. I've been quite a flip-flopper on this topic this past year. One day I feel the urge to teach, to have routine, to make a difference, and the next day I realize I AM doing that.

Three days later I am dying to get out of yoga pants and a ponytail.

I never expected to like staying home. And I didn't...at first. My maternity leave was hectic. No more than three hours of sleep in a row for four months makes a Momma crazy. When I went back to teaching in January it was wonderfully terrible. I couldn't help but wonder if getting my final pink slip in June was the universe trying to tell me something, again.

This second chance at staying at home with Leila has been not-even-close to perfect, but it has changed me. Changed how I picture myself, how I picture our future.

I like what I see.