Mess is Best in Arts and Crafts — But Not in MY kitchen!

We all know that kids learn by mess and play. It’s about the process not the product, about being able to do things their own way to develop their creativity and problem-solving. But trying to convince me that mess is best in my own kitchen is not as easy — sometimes I’m not so sure I want gobs of glue, shimmers of glitter, and plops of paint all over my house — no matter how washable they advertise.

Not to deprive my children of their artistic and psychological growth, I’ve come up with a fair compromise of how to manage these mediums and my control-freak sanity.

Glue: Grab a plastic container lid and wrap it in tin foil for easy clean up. Pour a tablespoon or so in the lid and use a paint brush to spread the glue. When they’re done, peel off the tin foil and throw away. Done. Easy clean up. And Mom is still happy.

I also REALLY love these glue tips that I bought from my son’s preschool teacher. It attaches to your everyday glue bottle. The kids press the tip on the paper and the glue comes out in a dab. It’s called Tap ‘N Glue and is sold on Amazon for 99 cents for two.

Paint: Pour paint colors into an empty egg carton. This gives the kids just the right amount of paint, and less chance of mixing colors before getting on the paper!

Glitter: Keep your glitter in salt and pepper shakers– typically the glitter comes out more slowly and it is easier to control. Otherwise, do glittery activities over a 9×13 pan with paper at the bottom (construction paper, wax paper, tin foil all work well). This will help to catch the extra glitter from falling on your floor, and you can gather up the unused glitter and funnel it back into its container for future use.