feet painting

 When we got home from running our errands today, I was looking forward to spending some time outside in the garden, hoping to read a bit. The boy announced he wanted to do some painting and appeared with his giant roll of art paper and started looking for his paints. We found paints and a brush and the paint water cup and as it was beautiful, warm and sunny outside, I suggested he paint outside. He wasn't sure about that idea but we set up outside. Then a bug walked across the paper and some dirt flew on the paper and he really wasn't too sure about the whole idea. He wanted to do a green skeltine (skeleton) but changed his mind. He ended up doing a feet painting. He painted the picture

 and then ran across it and around the patio and back across the painting and so on and so on.

He did two big paintings before this got old. Before he was allowed back in the house, we had to wash his feet off

- which naturally involved the hose and the sprinkler head and the boy getting absolutely soaked. Then it was off to build heavy haulers out of Lego with Daddy. And I got to clean the paint off the patio (thank goodness for washable paint).

roller coaster artist

This month, the children are learning about artists at T’s preschool. So yesterday, T 's response to “what did you do at school today” was to tell me he painted under the table. Hmmm. So I asked him to show me what he meant. He promptly lay down on his back on the floor and reached his arms in the air and waved them around (simulating the painting bit.)

“Which artist were you learning about?” I asked.
“Mickeangelo” came his answer.
“Was there paper on the bottom of the table?”, I said, just wanting clarification that he wasn’t painting on the actual table.
“Yup”.
“What did you paint?”
“Roller coaster!”
Of course, almost every painting T has done lately is a roller coaster.

He wants to ride on one. I don’t know where this comes from – as far as I know he’s never been near a roller coaster and hasn’t even seen video of one.

But they are easy for a 3 year old to paint, lot of loops!

(this one is apparently in the style of Emily Carr)

movie saturday

Yesterday D and I went to a matinee, to see Julie and Julia. I loved it. I've read Julie Powell's book but I like the movie a lot better and the Meryl Streep/Julia Child bits were fantastic. We can't remember the last time we saw a movie in the theatre so it was awesome to get out. We could have done without the 20 minutes of trailers beforehand tho'! Thanks to Auntie K who played with T and took him to ride the train - twice. He rode the steam train but after his two rides thought he wanted a ride on the diesel train - next time. We all had dinner together (thanks K!) while T watched Cars on DVD - I had been saving that DVD for just this type of occasion.

T started back at preschool on Thursday. He didn't understand why the preschool day was so short - Thursday 1 hour, Friday 1 1/2 hours, on Tuesday it will be up to 2 hours 40 minutes as per usual. Mrs G tried to explain that the new children needed to ease into preschool and get used to it so that was why it was less time than normal and T kept saying "I don't understand". He was very happy on Thursday morning because he got to watch a backhoe on the way into preschool - pure 3 1/2 year old joy!

Busy morning this morning. We did art (painting),

and played Bob with the trucks, T sang the Bob the Builder theme song the whole time he painted and played trucks.

Now we are off shopping, going to the market, going to the art store for more paper, and then to the park to feed the ducks and to play. Hopefully it won't be raining at the park - T won't mind but I would rather not stand around in the rain.