We host a home school group here each week. It is a fun group, a busy group. A BUSY group. Mind you it is mostly because of my busy boys, but that is besides the point.

Every week I try to plan an activity that will burn off some energy. This week I had planned a fun outdoor scavenger hunt, in fact the one I had shared over on the How Wee Learn Facebook Page just a few days ago. It was going to be awesome! And then, we woke up to rain.

I had told myself we would still go out anyways, it’s just a little rain! But, then it became more than a little rain. By the time our friends were arriving, it was a full out torrential downpour. With some not having rain gear, we did a quick change of plans. Painting!

The kids went out with some baskets during a moment of pause in the down pour. They collect lots of different nature materials – pine cones, acorn lids, sticks, pine needles, stones, tree bark, wood chips, lots of goodies.

Then they came inside and we got to painting.

I had laid out some plastic on the table (I like to use plastic garbage or recycling bags, once the paint dries we can still use them) and put out some paint in pots. I had a few different kinds of paint brushes as well.

The kids really enjoyed painting all of the different textures of the natural materials. We also used some tulips that were inside and past their prime. It was neat exploring on all the different natural canvases.

Lots of language was used: smooth, rough, bumpy, soft, hard, coarse, jagged …

This was a great activity for many ages – perfect for our little group. It could be kept as simple as we made it, or made into quite an elaborate project.

This was a nice way for us to spend a rainy spring morning – maybe you will enjoy it as well!

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