"Less mess" painting for preschoolers

Last week, I began watching Kyla again. She'll be hanging out with me four days a week until the end of the month. It's been fun interacting with her over these past few days. We do a few activities daily around breakfast, lunch and nap time. She loves to paint, but the last time we used watercolors, she made a huge mess. So, I found some watercolor pencils in my stash of craft supplies to try with her. She thinks they are sooo fun! I think they're great because they're not messy!

When it's painting time, I give her some paper to draw her creations on. This one is already decorated with some fish, but she had fun nonetheless, painting pictures around them.

To use them, you just dip them into water and paint away! You can even use a paintbrush to spread more of the paint around, if you want. I've used these in the past myself, and they are so neat to use. She painted with Q today, and he seemed to be enjoying himself as well.

These Mongol watercolor pencils have been around for a long time--decades to be exact! I don't know how old my set is, but I think it was given to me by an older lady who was just getting rid of some of her things and thought I could use them. They are sold by the Faber-Castell Corporation, but I know there are other brands out there that sell these, including Crayola. 

I'm so glad I found these for Kyla. I know there are newer coloring products designed just for little ones, but things are working well with this classic art tool. We're having a blast painting a couple times a week. 

Have any of you found a neat craft that works well with preschoolers?