Being Okay with Messy Play

 There used to be a time when I refused to let my children do anything involving paint at home. Just thinking about paint on the dining table would make my stress level hit the roof. My excuse was that they would get to do that elsewhere, in playgroups and such. But ever since I started preschool homeschooling, I realised that I was going to have to bite the bullet. Paint was going to have to enter this household. Here are some tips I learned that helped me stress less and even be okay with messy play.

 1. Get washable paint, plastic placemats, large butcher's paper, old shirts and lots and lots of rags.
   
 Tape the butcher's paper on the table, put plastic placemats on top, then put the paper that the children will paint on above that. And leave rags on top of the table for hands and on the bottom of the table for spills. Have the children wear your old shirt and then, only then place the brush in their little hands. And remember, they will ALWAYS end up painting with their hands. Always.

2. Give them specific instructions before they start.

 Show them a sample of what they are meant to do. If they are going to just do free painting, let them know in advance their limits (e.g. Paint only on this paper, Stay seated while painting etc.) Don't assume that children know these things because sometimes their imaginations can run wild and they might just pour the water on their paper shouting, "I drew the ocean, mummy!"

3. Remember, 'Fat souls are better than clean floors.'

 This phrase is from Rachel Jankovic's great book on parenting, 'Loving the Little Years'. It reminds me that the overwhelming things that children do (like throwing every piece of soft toy, blankets, pillows and cushions that we own in the living room floor to make a mountain) isn't meant to annoy me, but actually fatten their souls. They are just enjoying childhood and I need to let them do those things. They will all eventually grow out of this stage, and snuffing it out of them prematurely will only be to their detriment. Sometimes when it gets too overwhelming and I feel like yelling, "Stop!", I just leave the room for a little while. The table and the carpet is nothing compared to their souls. And if it just gets too much, I can always move the project to the backyard and let them go wild.

 My tolerance level has grown a lot now and today we did this Christmas project:

 My next project is letting my children actually cook something in the kitchen. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.