Staying in the lines
Today Jack asked if he could color. I said sure, and grabbed a set of crayons he had gotten for Christmas.
He practiced writing his name, which somehow has acquired an H in it, and colored a few pages before annoucing he was all done.
I put the coloring book away and started to make dinner. A few minutes later, I hear him chattering about the green crayon and saying, "Mommy! Mommy! Jack use the green crayon!"
When I looked over the top of the island, I realized Jack was using the green crayon to draw a road around the fireplace on our hardwood floors. Apparently, I put the coloring book away but not the crayons.
I grabbed the green crayon out of his hand and told him we never, ever color on anything but paper and never, ever on the floor. I even told him that it was naughty, which is a phrase I have used probably twice in his entire life.
A wet paper towel didn't do much for the green strip now running through our loving room and kitchen, so I was freaking out. Such odd behavior for me, right? Because I have a stash of non-eco-friendly cleaning products in the house just for this kind of event, I grabbed a Magic Eraser and tested it out. And yes, it got the crayon right out. I then tried it on the various plastic-toy scuffs we have and sure as shit, same thing. I know it could possibly take the finish off the floor, but really, what's worse: little spots of dull finish or bright green crayon roads? (For the record, the finish looks fine.)
So a big thanks to everyone who got Jack art supplies for the holidays. They are now under lock and key, only to be played with under direct supervision, on the carpet downstairs.
He practiced writing his name, which somehow has acquired an H in it, and colored a few pages before annoucing he was all done.
I put the coloring book away and started to make dinner. A few minutes later, I hear him chattering about the green crayon and saying, "Mommy! Mommy! Jack use the green crayon!"
When I looked over the top of the island, I realized Jack was using the green crayon to draw a road around the fireplace on our hardwood floors. Apparently, I put the coloring book away but not the crayons.
I grabbed the green crayon out of his hand and told him we never, ever color on anything but paper and never, ever on the floor. I even told him that it was naughty, which is a phrase I have used probably twice in his entire life.
A wet paper towel didn't do much for the green strip now running through our loving room and kitchen, so I was freaking out. Such odd behavior for me, right? Because I have a stash of non-eco-friendly cleaning products in the house just for this kind of event, I grabbed a Magic Eraser and tested it out. And yes, it got the crayon right out. I then tried it on the various plastic-toy scuffs we have and sure as shit, same thing. I know it could possibly take the finish off the floor, but really, what's worse: little spots of dull finish or bright green crayon roads? (For the record, the finish looks fine.)
So a big thanks to everyone who got Jack art supplies for the holidays. They are now under lock and key, only to be played with under direct supervision, on the carpet downstairs.
Labels: Jack
posted by Amy at
10:27 PM
4 Comments:
On the bright side, at least it wasn't on the walls. Especially wallpaper.
Ha! I don't allow any art supplies in the house that don't have "washable" in the name. Because I've discovered that washable at least comes out after scrubbing. Non-washable, not so much.
It was a little Owen graffiti that was the final straw on ditching our last couch. Thankfully, it was already pretty worn out or he STILL might not have his markers back... :)
we now use ONLY Color Wonders... they only work on their highly overpriced Color Wonder paper. This is after I cleaned pen off every surface in my house.
The Magic Eraser is the most amazing product EVER!! I'm pretty sure it gets everything but sharpie off the walls and floors.
Bean is 7 months old and already people are giving us crayons for her. Since they weren't the washable kind I've donated all of the to waste management :)
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