Another hot day here, so what to do? My youngest came to me late morning. "I'm bored mum".
My girls are usually really good at occupying themselves, but when its hot, everything slows down, including your ability to think. Plus her and her sister, slept outside on the trampoline last night with two of their friends. So she had not got as much sleep as she usually would. So I suggested that we sit outside, underneath our shade cloth and paint.
"But we got no paper mum". My youngest exclaimed to me. "Who needs paper I said, weren't we only painting stones last week", was my response.
" let's go outside and see what we can find."
I had something in mind, already.
There are quite a few Eucalyptus trees growing on the edge of the land, which backs onto the riverbed. The bark of which, is perfect for painting on, plus it falls off naturally. I would never pull it off of the tree. I let it fall off when it's ready. Luckily there was loads to choose from.
When we got back, my middle daughter wanted to paint also. She preferred painting her hand, which you can see in the first photo. She's quite the artist, she's always drawing or making scrap books. She's ever so creative. I really love, what she painted on her hand.
I always enjoy painting, I find it very medative. I painted a couple, one which included words, which you can see in the photos. My youngest knew exactly what she wanted to paint. We could only find two paint brushes, which each being quite big, so we also improvised with sticks and a fork, to do a little bit of dot work.
I have the idea to get smaller brushes, that would be easier to write with and we can paint some of the phrases my girls use. As well as a few lines from some of my poems. It's such a wonderful way for the girls to practice their writing. Plus they love it.
I'm feeling very lucky to be surrounded by so much natural materials that we get to use freely.
It's really difficult not to be inspired when you are surrounded by he beauty of nature. Encouraging your kids to slow down and observe what is around them, is such a valuable lesson. Kids are naturally good at being more present and at being more mindful. We just need to encourage them, to hold onto it and not get caught up in the so called rat race.
