i heart my garage

Okay, I don't really.

But ever since I started hanging Maddy, Owen, and Cora's artwork in my least favorite place in our house, I have liked it a little more.

We were in need of a rainy morning activity and some new artwork for our walls, so today I wallpapered the garage in blank paper, brought out the finger paints, and let my little ones do the decorating.

• Garage Art: We threw on junker clothes and old shirts (for smocks) on Maddy, Owen, and Cora, and we put newspaper down on the table in the garage.
  

Then I said, Okay, time to take this old artwork down and replace it with some new masterpieces. Let's make these finger painted masterpieces. I bet they'll make our ugly garage beautiful!

Owen's painted hand

So we globbed the paint on tiny hands, and Maddy and Owen started out with hand prints and smears. Cora was not feeling the finger paint at first but eventually warmed up to it. . .

It's getting more and more beautiful. . .

We talked textures--both on their hands and the ones they created on the paper--and patterns and color blending.

Maddy decided to put paint on the empty paper roll and rolled it on the wall, which really created a cool texture. How fun is that?

I showed Owen how to make circles on the wall by stamping the empty paint containers, and then he grabbed a "real stick" from outside to use for making lines in the paint.

Maddy rolls the paint.

I'll never love the garage--it's spidery and buggy and always ends up an obstacle course of bikes, scooters, and skates.

I think of the organizing possibilities every time I walk through Target, but until we get there, I'll take tiny hand prints, little finger swirls, and a collage of artwork any day.

And that was our learning for today--using hands, fingers, sticks, and their own growing brains to beautify our garage.