Painting with Mud

I had a phone call from preschool the other day. In the middle of the day. Of course my first thought was "oh no what's gone wrong?" but in fact, the inspiring leader was ringing to tell me my big boy Sammy had achieved a milestone. I beamed with pride as she retold how he had requested a pen and paper and sat down to write his name.

Now I know some may have done this a long time ago and some will be no where near. None of that matters because the day that it happens is a great day, whenever it may be.

Of course his handwriting needs a little fine tuning! So at the weekend we grabbed a bucket of water and an old paintbrush, whilst Ollie had an afternoon snooze. We went into the garden and he dug at an old plant pot, scooping mud into the fresh water. A disgusting potion but perfect to paint with.

After painting the walls we moved onto letters. We traced over the S about a dozen times and did as many as we could before his attention turned to filling up a water pistol with the revolting water and I ducked inside!

The best thing is that the next day when it rained, the muddy mix was washed away. Zero clearing up required!

An easy activity to get them to understand how letters flow. Drawing them as big as possible and without a guide to start with.

Any other tips on how to help with handwriting?