When I first saw Growing a Jeweled Rose's post Paint the Sky, I thought mirror painting would be fun to try someday.  Then my friend Stephanie at Twodaloo recently posted her beautiful photos of the giant mirror her twins painted in her Fingerpaint and Mirrors post and we just had to try it, too!  But where to find a mirror?  We didn't have one and I didn't want to buy one just to paint it and have to deal with the hassle of storing it somewhere.  Then it dawned on me - our bathroom has a giant mirror!  I picked a time where I could devote my entire attention to watching S and staying within arms reach of her - and we painted our bathroom mirror!  

Please use close (within arms reach) adult supervision for a child of any age during this activity!

S was SO delighted to be able to hop up on the counter and paint away.  I think at first she thought I might be a little crazy - but then she really got into it.  

To ensure that our bathroom tile countertop stayed paint-free, I used a bed sheet and applied a strip of packing tape between the bottom of the mirror and the sheet to make a paint-proof barrier.  We used our newest favorite paints, Discount School Supply's Simply Washable Tempera (we bought these ourselves) because they are just as beautiful as they are washable.  We didn't have enough in the budget to buy all the colors, so we'd picked just three - magenta, apple green, and turquoise - and I put them in our Dollar Tree muffin tin and gave S a large handled paintbrush to set to work. True to our previous experiences with Discount School Supply's Colorations brand paints - these were the most beautiful, vibrant, and washable paints!  Please keep in mind that S is OBSESSED with mixing paints, so the odd colors you see as time progresses are her own creations made by mixing the bright and cheerful original pink, green, and blue together.  :)

At first, she was just interested in painting over her face and peeking around the paint.  But then she started telling and painting a story!  It was stormy out, and there was a giant purple storm cloud.  Then it started to rain!

Here she is caught in the rain!  Eek!  She's getting wet!  She painted a house for herself to the left there and she'd periodically duck in to dry off, then pop back out in the rain like a true Seattleite.

Then the story took a bit of a strange turn (as a 3.5 year old's stories so often do) and a jellyfish appeared.  In the sky, apparently.

The jellyfish was mean and looking for fish to sting!

Aw, look at that cute happy little fish!  Who would want to sting such a happy guy?

And after the jellyfish and the fish worked out their problems, S went back to telling stories about getting rained on and taking shelter in her house again.  :)

When S was done, we each took a damp paper towel and wiped down the mirror.  After that, I took one final damp paper towel and one Windex wipe and the mirror was as good as new.  We popped the sheet in the wash, bringing the total amount of time for cleaning up to about 3 minutes.  Surprisingly quick and easy!

Have you read about our other unusual painting adventure?

All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children.  As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family.  I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision.  Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies).  Observe caution and safety at all times.  The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.