The Ultimate Solution to Painting-Related Spillages

We all know this scenario only too well. Child wants to paint. Mother agrees. Mother lays out newspaper over entire kitchen table, gets out paints and puts a small amount of water into a glass. It all looks harmless enough. Fifteen minutes later the child is soaked to the skin, the painting and the newspaper have formed a kind of papier mache mush and there are puddes on the kitchen floor. Mother swears that only crayons will be used for future pictures.

Sound familiar? Well, with this super-easy DIY no-spill water jar those days are gone. Roll on mess-free picture painting with your children.

Here's what you need:

A jam jar with a metal lid that screws on tightly

A screwdriver

A paintbrush

Water

Optional: A felt tip pen for writing on glass

Step 1: Screw the lid onto the jar. 

Step 2: Use the screwdriver to punch a hole in the centre of the lid. Remember to make it large enough for your child's paintbrush to fit through. 

Step 3: Remove the lid and use the screwdriver to flatten the sharp metal bits against the underside of the lid. The last thing you want is to avoid spilling water only to create sharp edges for small fingers to cut themselves on! Blood is not only thicker than water, it also leaves stains.

Step 4: Fill the jar with water until it comes about 1/3 the way up the jar. Screw the lid back on and turn the jar onto its side. If water spills out, it is too full. If water doesn't spill out, you have done everything right. Congratulate yourself.  

Yes, there is water in this jar.
More importantly, it is staying
in the jar.

Step 5: If you haven't got the water level right, just do a bit of trail and error work till you get it to the right level. 

Step 6: Mark the maximum water level on the side of the jar with a waterproof felt pen.

A Family Afloat

My dad brought us up to be adventurers not sugar babies, as he says. That is something that I am trying to pass on to my boys. Luckily the Bavarian is a hunter and fisher, so I am not alone in wanting them to be outdoorsy. 

Today we launched our new canoe on its maiden voyage. The boys had their first trip in such a small boat and were thrilled with themselves. Number 1 was bursting with excited questions and Number 2 was a natural boatsman, pushing the boat out into the water without anyone having to explain what had to be done. 

And I was one happy mammy at the sight of my boys on another outdoor adventure.

While the Bavarian and Number 1 were out on the canoe, Number 2 and I enjoyed a little picnic and made a stone man.  

I have a bit of a fear of swans when the children are around, so Number 2, Number 3 and I retreated to the car for about 5 minutes when this swan made a beeline for our picnic site. Number 2 was not impressed with the sudden change of scene but luckily the swan headed off about his business after a while and we were able to picnic and play undisturbed for the rest of our stay.

  

We were fascinated by the roots of these trees growing on the shore. I was never a big fan of geography at school, but I love being able to show the boys things like erosion or the effects of high water when we see them live. Children learn so much more from their own experiences than from sitting in a classroom, I find.

Number 2 did a bit of exploring on his own but was easy to spot in his red cap. 

Despite the dull weather, forgetting the picnic blanket and only having one coffee cup with us (the lid of the flask), we had an enjoyable few hours in the fresh air. In fact managing without those comforts made it even more of an outdoor adventure. We looked for a spot with some rocks for seats and the Bavarian and I shared the one little cup from the flask while the boys messed out with sticks, stones and water, as little boys do.