Mess free painting with MR Price Home Chunky Paint Pens

I have to admit that I have not been painting with the kids nearly as much as I want to because I have been lazy when it comes to the messes it makes when the kids put their hands in the paint tubs and paint everything around them except the paper in front of them… no, I have not been lazy… I have been drop dead tired and not up for cleaning!

Even though I absolutely love crafts, I am a pain in the butt with messes.

I walk around with the washcloth, cleaning every little drop I see, put the washcloth down and tell myself its good for them to mess… But after like, 5 seconds I just find myself with the washcloth again trying not to yell at them, not to mess around… Not cool, I KNOW!

So when I saw these in Mr Price Home I had to try them out. My kids love painting so this was an opportunity for me to try it out and maybe we’d get to paint a bit more. Well, we did! I got some white shirts that they can wear every time we paint and I had some plastic aprons that wipes off easily… Ready to go!

The pens had tight sealing caps inside that needed quite some force with a knife to get out. It was pretty messy and took a while with the kids waiting in anticipation for me to finish so make sure you do this over paper or in a basin before you start. After opening them, also make sure to turn them over and squeeze until the paint seeps through… Once thats done, Bob’s your uncle!

Once they were all open it just took a minute or two for the kids to figure out that you have to turn it upside down all the way to get paint out but once they were on a roll they loved painting with the pens. They are almost mess free (cause can you ever be mess free with toddlers??) but the best thing of these Chunky Paint pens is that they dry really quickly and even after it has dried it wipes off hands and tables easily with just a wet cloth.

At only R39,99 it’s not too pricey either if you consider the prices of other proper paints. This paint is good quality, theres no clotting and when the colors mix it just takes a squeeze to get the original color back. I have re-used them multiple times and can say that they haven’t dried out yet as I keep the caps sealed tight when stored.

I love to draw them each a circle, triangle and square to show them the shapes and give them a basic starting point in drawing and color and then they usually try to imitate them or color them in. After this we move on to other activities like coloring or free painting on white paper. I found with this age that they have more confidence once there is a starting point.

The nice thing of the chunky paint pens was that I could make dots to give them some color guidance on their coloring pages. I believe its good to also give them free play on paper but following instructions is also a good part of development so sometimes I try to give them instructions to follow too. Coloring in specific pictures with given lines is great for fine motor skills to teach them control of the pen and helps them to have better handwriting but free drawing on white paper allows them to unleash their creativity and conquers fear of the open paper. Don’t neglect one of the two, they are two totally different activities that are both important for development

We will certainly enjoy lots of this in future and I’m pretty sure I will be buying some more soon! Head to any Mr Price Home store or order them online at : http://www.mrphome.com/en_za/jump/HOMEWARE/Pack-Of-6-Chunky-Paint-Pens/productDetail/2_3201016423/cat860009/general

Enjoy!