We had a morning that was high energy and bordering on craziness and it wasn’t even 8am.  The forecast was calling for rain and the weather change had the kids running around and acting silly.  I was trying to think of something to redirect their energy and opened the art cabinet.  I found some scraps of watercolor paper and pulled out the tray of watercolor paints and some brushes.

As soon as they got started the place calmed right down.  I asked them to think about what they wanted to paint before they got started and then reminded them about dipping the brush in the water first and then rubbing it on the watercolor cake to pick up the color.  One of the kids was unhappy with a color he had put on his paper and we tried wetting it with water and dabbing it with a paper towel and most of the color came right off.

They stayed with the painting for almost 40 minutes and it really changed the tone of the whole day!  It was a great reminder about how soothing and calming watercolor painting can be for children.