Animal Bath Time

It's the unexpected surprises that keep life exciting. That's why on a mellow Sunday afternoon, I told my children they could paint their (indoor) toy animals. Of course there was one condition: They must give those animals a bath afterwards. (I knew this would be exciting for them as well, but I acted like it was a condition.)
How we did it:
Materials List
- toy plastic animals
- paint
- bowl
- warm water
- dish soap
- towel
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The animals all lined up with great anticipation to get colorful! I told the kids to go for it and--with some hesitation (was mama being serious?), the kids slowly began to paint with smiles from ear to ear.
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I have said it many times...I love egg crates for paint holding! They work so perfectly. My two year old got to work on his elephant shouting, "I paint you elephant! I paint you pretty!"
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Just as they promised, they gave each animal a bath after every painting. (I gave them a bowl of soapy, warm water.) Oh how they loved this step.
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Some animals made fun tracks. This was very exciting for the curious five-year-old. "What kind of tracks does a T-Rex make?" she wondered...
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The bathing area was a popular spot. I made the water nice and warm and, on a chilly morning, this was very appealing for the kids.
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After each bath, they got right back to it. They loved that they could keep starting over. Emma even became a carnival face painter at one point and lined up all the animals who were so excited to choose their face painting.
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The colorful cow got a new fancy "moo" along with his new fancy patches. I did not expect that at all and it was hilarious!
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My kids went on and on with this for hours this day. I thought how amazing it was for a new type of painting canvas to capture such great imaginations and was such a fun experience for my children. I wonder what we will paint next?