Art Days With The Two Tornados

Art is fun, art is beautiful, art is messy and art is tiring when you do it with two two year olds!  Especially if you are a type A person, like me!  However, I think art is sooo important, especially when you are little and can't say how you feel.  Scribbling it out on paper is helpful in that case!

I've done a few projects with the girls, but I really thought they'd like this one, as it involved being on the floor and a REALLY big piece of paper with them on it!

The original plan called for markers as the medium, and I used it to trace C and FL, but after .5 seconds, realized they aren't quiet ready to use markers without direct supervision (summertime, outside, in bathing suits to be hosed down is more like it!).  I thought C was having some sort of tet spell with her heart (talk about scaring mama!), as her lips and hands were blue, but it was only blue marker!!!

"Mama, WHAT are you doing?!"

"You've totally lost it, Mama, but it sure is fun!"

"Yep, you're crazy, Mama.  I like you, but you're crazy..."

They were really unsure of what in the world I was doing, so I did C first and then FL (I thought FL was looking a little scared when I showed them a picture of this project and told them to lay down!).  They wiggled some and wanted to watch the marker in my hand, so make sure your markers are washable if you do this, as I got some on C's shirt.  Also, art is more about exploring the medium at this age and less about making a masterpiece that makes sense.  Check your perfectionisim at the door!  I had to!

"Ok, Mama, we get it!!!  Color!"

I had to eliminate the markers and reduce their choice of crayons.  When I gave them the whole tin of crayons, they became more interested in digging in it (and who possessed the whole tin) than coloring.  The markers, well...  you know!  : ) The floor is laminate and easy to clean, so, again, if you're going to do this, choose a surface that won't be harmed by crayons or markers.

It took them a minute or two to get going, but they really enjoyed it...

...so much so that they wanted to be traced again!!!

C is just as silly and fun and crazy as she looks to be in this picture!  I'm a blessed mama!

And this little monkey was not going to be outdone by her sister!  FL has changed SO MUCH since her Forever Family Day.  She likes a good laugh and is VERY silly!  I'm doubly blessed!

They enjoyed these tracings so much that I left them out for about a week.  When I had to make dinner, etc. it was nice to have something that they could do close by where they could roll around and just be children.  The best part is that I will have a tracing of how big they were (or how little) when they first came home!  They are already growing so much that I have started to go through my box of 3T clothes!  Both of their bellies cannot be contained by these shirts - I think they'll fit in them for no more than a month! And that's a good thing! : )  Well, except I don't want them to grow up too fast!!!

Here's the results after the first day:

We'll definitely be doing these again, and I hope to use paint outside in the summer so they'll be a little brighter in color.  THey were MUCH more filled up by the end of the week with all kinds of scribbles and doodles, too!

Do this project with your kiddos, no matter the age (the paper is old, thick wrapping paper, BTW).  Make a fun pose, or try to make the dog or cat participate (we got a few paw tracings and A LOT of laughs out of the girls with that!)!  Be creative and don't worry too much about the mess - the days are long but the years are short!

Side note:  Don't think I'm super awesome with a clean floor...  I was really impressed with how it looked in the pictures, but, y'all, it hasn't been mopped or vacuumed in almost two months.  I am no overachiever, martha stewart-pinterest-june cleaver girl, make no mistake!  But we have fun!