"Paint" the house with water, "draw" on the driveway with ice cubes

Cool, creative, and NO CLEANUP. From Lisa:

All of the recent talk about spray bottles for summer water play made me remember something my mom used to do with me. She would take a paint brush and water and let me "paint" the house. Works like a cheap aquadoodle. This just bought me a good half hour of peace with my 2 year old. He painted my car, the driveway, the house, and even me!

We also used ice cubes like crayons to draw on the driveway. The teacher in me loves that it combines so many elements: sensory, art, dramatic play, and writing.

Related: Fill baby's high chair tray with water for warm weather splashing

Comments

[Amanda]

Speaking of ice, when the requests for sugary stuff begin to sound more like demands, I whirl 10 or 12 cubes in the blender, toss the shavings in a big tupperware dish and dash colored sprinkles on top for a snack/acitivity that is neither too messy nor truly sugary.

[Annette]

I love this idea! My son is not quite old enough yet, but I'll definitely file it away for future reference.

[Jennifer]

What a great idea! I'll keep this in mind. :)

[andrew Wrigley]

Even though water is plentiful in most of the US (unless you live in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Oklaholma or any where that just got hit by a hurricane, tornado or drought), a lot of the world is thirsty. It seems wrong to so flagrantly waste the world's most valuable resource. As cute as it seems to watch a two year old having a blast dousing the driveway with H20, maybe it's not such a great idea.

On the other side, if you limit the project to one or two bucketsful, it wouldn't be that much waste. people who really waste water are those who play golf or have swimming pools in desert resorts, and those who spend an hour hosing off their cars instead of using a bucket and rag, which does a better job. I passed by one fellow who, instead of using a broom, was getting leaves off of his driveway with a stream of water from a hose. People are short of water and its wrong to waste.

[Lisa]

OK, as the original hacker, I just have to respond to Andrew's comment. Frankly, I'm quite amused. Exactly how much water could a preschooler of any age actually use while pretending to paint the house? First of all, they are SHORT! We did not get out Daddy's extension ladder! Second, he couldn't cover much ground in thirty minutes! The amount used hardly qualified as one bucket full. I use more water to fill up his water table or wading pool.

While I understand that water is a valuable resource (we just had a severe drought in our area last year) to me providing your child with an activity that is both fun and developmental is hardly wasteful. Children need to play, and they should.

[özlem]

thanks:)

[özlem]

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[Dolls Clothes Gal]

Great idea - I've never seen this. Thanks.

[hedra]

We do this in the tub (paint brush as bath toy). Also works on chalkboards really well. Just wait a little bit, it dries, and create a new one!