Ready for some artsy fun? Let’s paint the cars!

The obsession with painting toys is real. And why shouldn’t it be? Painting toys is an awesome “make it to nap time activity” and an even better “how are we going to get from naps to dinner?” activity. This round… we decided to paint the cars.

SEE IT: Wonder what my daily schedule looks like with my 3 kids? Check out our daily routine here!

What you need to know about painting toys

I know that painting toys might seem a little crazy.

“Won’t they think it’s ok to paint any toy now?!”

In a word NO.

Kids are amazing with understanding context and understanding that rules vary. They know they can scoop and dump water in the bathtub, but that doesn’t mean they’re splashing water at the dinner table. They get the difference.

It’s the same with painting toys – they understand that this is a fun activity when it’s an activity…it’s not an everyday kind of thing.

And BONUS: it heads kids off at the pass.

My kids have never drawn on walls or marked up toys, and I believe that has a lot to do with activities like this. They have a chance to get that curiosity out in a safe way and under watchful supervision.

We’re giving them an inch, so they don’t feel like they need to run a mile.

RELATED: You don’t need to spend hundreds on activity supplies. Check out my Dollar Store activities!

The trick to setting up Paint the Cars

Materials:

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• Washable tempera paint (this stuff works the best)
• Paint brushes
• Storage container or similar space to keep the mess contained
• Paper (optional but helps with the mess)
• Smaller container of soap and water

I decided to give Future Susie (that’s me!) a little help and lined my storage container with paper. This made clean up so fast and easy; Past Susie was such a sweetheart for doing that.

On the paper, I squirted out our paints, then carefully lined up a bunch of cars in the center of the tub.

But guess what else I did?

I also made a washing station! That way, once cars were finished and beautiful, there was a space to wash them off.

This was like a little bonus activity – and I love that!

How many cars got painted…?

I’m not totally sure but about twice as many as in this picture! My kids just kept coming back inside looking for more and more cars to paint.

I love that – they loved the activity, and were able to keep it going for themselves.

That’s what good activities can do: inspire kids to keep playing.

We love painting toys around here – it has yet to get old! So happy we finally got to paint the cars to see if that was any fun. Good news: it totally was.

When will you kids paint the cars?