Tuesday, July 03, 2012

Sidewalk Paint = FUN!!!!

Yes, I am actually blogging.  WOO HOO!!  :-)  

I have had trouble in the last few months actually making myself sit down and blog.  I WANT to blog.  I LIKE to blog.  But, I don't always have something to say.  Being on facebook I kind of feel like I am just repeating myself if I blog about it later.

Then, sometimes I have nothing to say "blog worthy."

Other times I have A LOT to say, but refuse to blog about it.  I don't want to use my blog to "rant", "complain", or have political debates... and lately it seems like that is what I would end up doing.
You know the old saying, "If you can't say something nice....."

OR, my favorite, " It is better to remain silent and have people think you're a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt."  I will always remember my college Prof. Bro. Doug Wilson saying that.   I believe Abraham Lincoln actually said it, but I will always here it in Bro. Doug's voice, with his Mississippi accent.  :-)

Anyway, it's been a very busy, fun summer so far.   Little Mark has had a very successful year in 4-H, and I do intend to blog about that later.

But, for now I'll just go with a simple, fun activity that you can do with the kids.  :-)

"Angel" and "Little Mark" painted the driveway last week.  I made the Sidewalk paint that I saw on Kid Concoctions.


If you have not seen this book:   

Then you need to run to your bookstore, library, or computer to get it.   Kid Concoctions is AMAZING!!   

And, I should probably do a post about them some time.  (Note to self:  Do a post)  :-)

But, for now we'll just go with the this one.

If you've ever made goop, then you already know how to make the Sidewalk paint.   I don't measure exactly, but I'll tell you how I did it.

Ingredients: 

Cornstarch
Water
Food Coloring

I used an ice cube tray to mix the different colors in, but a muffin tin or egg carton also works great.  

I put in one tablespoon of cornstarch, about 5 or 6 drops of liquid food coloring, and a LITTLE bit of water at a time.  When I say little I mean LITTLE.  I probably ended up with a teaspoon or so before all was said and done.   I thinned mine just a little more than I would "goop".  The colors were nice and bright, and the paint had the consistency of acrylic paint.  It worked very well.

I gave the kids some sponge brushes and this was the result. 


 As you can see, they had a lot of fun. AND, it's inexpensive, non-toxic, and easy clean up.  

 I also thought this would be a great homeschooling lesson.  You could cover Science, Art, Math, and Handwriting all at once!!  :-)   I hope you and your family give it a try.

Love,
Wendy Darling