The kids and I had a painting party this afternoon. They LOVE to paint! I've resisted giving any more input other than "Good colors! Nice swishes!" and encouraging stuff like that, but I felt it was finally time to do some art instruction. I put an apple and a pear in the center of the dining room table and asked them to paint a picture of them. We talked about their shapes, how the fruits weren't only red and green but so many other colors as well. I pointed out textures, speckles, stripes, light. I showed them how I did it, and painted right along with them. I didn't have to worry they'd copy me or overthink it; they each did their own thing and had a blast.

When we taught them their colors, we also taught them:

There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in a flower
And I see every one.

And here's their gorgeous artwork!


Apples and Pears by Sophia, age 3 (we ask them to title all their pictures. She had another one called "Pears and Apples".)


Words by Angela, age 2


Apples by Peter, age 2