Today is just gorgeous outside and I wanted to get the kids out to do a big messy project. I was going to have them finger paint at their picnic table but it really needed a good cleaning since it has been outside all winter. Then the brilliant idea of using the bath tub paints we made in the past came to me. I mixed up a batch of finger paints (1 cup clear dish soap, 7 TBSP cornstarch, separate into bowls, add food coloring… btw, I added 2 extra TBSP of cornstarch this time and liked it better) and we headed outside to clean the picnic table. Not only did they have a blast finger painting, they practiced writing words in the paint (nice school tie in) and they cleaned everything in site! I followed along behind them with the hose set to power wash. Now everything on our deck is sparkly clean and ready for many hours enjoying the bbq.

NOTE: All was well until Pixie decided to clean the dog when I had my back turned. LOL! I ended up with a half sudsy, half muddy, annoyed schnauzer. But other than that it was a great way to make a mundane chore a lot of fun.