My kids love to paint, and the art wall in my kitchen is a great testament to that fact. But after so many standard paint masterpieces, I decided it was time to try something different: Rainy Day Watery Watercolors. Don't let the title fool you; this is a great craft, rainy day or otherwise. It's a fun and easy twist on a familiar project that makes for a great afternoon of art. This often keeps my kids busy and entertained while I make dinner. While you're at it, have them try making this Marbled Photo Mat!

Materials

• watercolor paper or card stock
• watercolors or washable markers

• rain (if it's a sunny day, use a water spritz bottle)

Instructions

1.
Let your kids paint their watercolor creation as they normally would. This project also works well with washable markers.

2.
When they are done painting, put the masterpieces outside in the rain and watch the colors run) Once you like the way the pictured look (you can go with a little runny color – as we did – or more, your preference), bring them inside to dry.

3.
If you want to do this project on a sunny day, no worries! Just spritz the artwork with a water bottle, let the colors run, and then set the artwork aside to dry.

Tips

• This is a good exercise in letting go. My son is a bit of a perfectionist, which makes doing art projects sometimes challenging. He wants it all to be perfect and just so and, as I keep explaining to him, art isn't perfect. There are no rules. It just is. Once his artwork was wet with rainwater, he couldn't control how the colors were going to run. He had to just let it be. That's where all the fun is!