Toddler Painting

We've done pudding paint for several months.  I love that it's edible!  My son really enjoys eating the pudding and painting with it.  I've been holding out on watercolor but finally decided to try it today. 

Why did I wait so long?  I was a little concerned that he would try to eat the paint.  I also anticipated paint in his hair, on his face, and all over the floor.  I need to give my son more credit.

After I showed him how it worked, I let him loose.  He did fairly well for his first watercolor painting.  It was pretty comical, even.

Here's the play-by-play:

Paintbrush to water
Paintbrush to paint... several colors at once
Paintbrush to water
*Mama - Paint on your paper, honey*
Paintbrush to paint... again, multiple colors
Paintbrush to water
*Mama - Hey baby, paint Dora*
Paintbrush to paint
Paintbrush to paper
*Mama - YAAAAAAAY  Good job!
Paintbrush to water
Paintbrush to paint
Paintbrush to water
*Mama decides to give it a rest and let him have fun!*

He had a blast!  Dora eventually got a sufficient amount of paint, as did two additional coloring pages. 

Being that this was his first time painting with watercolors, there is a certain amount of teaching and guiding that I needed to provide.  While I didn't expect him to color in the lines and have a perfect paper, I did find myself intervening too much.  He can't learn this for himself if I'm hovering!

Once I remembered that his toddler painting is about discovery and learning, I was able to relax and watch him have a great time.  He knew I was there to support him and help when he needed it, but he also had fun trying his own ideas.