Dots on Leaves

We found some great flat and large magnolia leaves on our walk today that were just begging to get painted! First we mixed up some paint--I have started introducing Q to mixing paint colors--we mixed green and yellow today to get a limish color. I use a popsicle stick and have been trying to teach her to stir it. She can hardly wait to get her fingers in the paint so she still doesn't have the knack of stirring it.....

We dipped a capped ink pin into the paint and stamped it on the leaves to make dots. I helped Q do a few and then let her go on her own. She wanted to take the lid off the pen so we talked about the fact that today we were using it for stamping work. She wasn't too into stamping circles, but she did watch me do my set of leaves.

Hers

Mine

I try to do whatever project she is doing alongside her. It's fun, it allows me to model the technique for her, and it helps me give her more freedom to create, because if my hands are full I am not so tempted to hover over and make her do her art a certain way. Even on days when she doesn't do the activity the way I designed, she still watches me and listenes to me speak out loud about everything I am doing. I know she is still learning and absorbing through this.

Today I tried this project a little too close to nap time. She ate a good deal of the paint and was kinda a stinker....Just in case you wanted to know the real story. :) However we did get some good conversation in about circles and that dots are circles!!

Now I can't wait for our leaves to dry so we can do something fun with them!!