Olivia, from Thames Ditton, shares her leaf painting activity. Let’s take a leaf out of her book and have a try too!
What did you do?
I decided to do a leaf activity. Molly LOVES painting so I combined the two.
I rolled out an old roll of wall paper, covered a plate with poster paint and we went around the garden gathering leaves.
Molly dipped the leaves in the paint then printed them onto the paper.
If I was going to do the activity again I would find a wider variety of leaves and a wider variety of sizes. In the end, Molly ran out of enthusiasm so I abandoned the leaf plan and followed her lead.
She wanted to see what would happen if she tipped the paints out. She then asked to pour water over the paint. We then got straws and blew the colours all over the paper. She LOVED that I said she could tip the paint and the water (I think she was expecting a no!) She was so so proud of her work of art.
Do you have any other projects planned?
I have some wooden peg people painted as the cast of moana so we will be creating a sea scape to act out the story.
Tell the Housebound With Kids community a bit about yourself…
I’m Olivia, teacher in a past life and current wrangler of Molly 2 and Jessie 5 months. We live in Surrey and love all things messy, mucky, sensory and outdoors.
@molly.hodsey.and.me
How are you finding being housebound so far?
It has been difficult having just had a baby to go into lockdown and be deprived of being able to share the special moments with friends and family. But this lockdown has helped me to remember all the things I loved about teaching and being creative. It’s been lovely to get back to basics and not rely on soft plays and play dates! That being said, we can’t wait to have a play with pals again soon.
Do you have any tips for other parents?
Be kind to yourself. Your play doesn’t need to be fancy, intricate or take hours. Some days Netflix and cuddles is just what the doctor ordered.
Has this website and community helped you?
It’s a fab resource to help and inspire parents and carers!
