Paint with Water

When my son Zach was much younger (about 15 or 16 months) I wanted to do something fun and creative with him that didn't involve too much mess.  Being that young, I was too scared to turn him loose with regular paint...not to mention that he tried to eat everything I gave him (including crayons)...so I had to get a little more creative.  While cleaning out a book shelf one day I found an old "Paint with Water" book I had when I was younger and realized I stumbled across the exact activity I'd been looking for!  So I tore out a few pages, gave one to Zach and one to my 23-month-old niece (who I used to babysit on a weekly basis) and had an instant success!  The kids were fascinated with the colors that "appeared" with their wet paint brush, and they loved painting water all over everything, not just the paper.  Yes, water got all over.  But I really didn't care, water is easy to clean up.  Yes, the kids got wet.  But what kids doesn't love playing in water and getting wet without Mom getting mad!  So, we made it a regular activity at our house and Zach still likes to paint in his books.  My only complaint is that these types of books are almost impossible to find (and I looked EVERYWHERE) so I have to order them off Amazon.  But, they continue to be worth it!  If you have a budding little artist, or if you just want a fun, creative (clean) outlet for your kids, than this may be the thing for you!