We had the opportunity to try out a Japanese brush painting activity yesterday. A rather magical one, in fact, with "disappearing ink." Maia kept asking if it was magic, anyway, even though she knew it was just water she was painting with. I could understand her awe, though, as the effect of the water painted on the special paper-covered sumi-e board was just like that of black ink until it disappeared and left us with a blank slate to start all over again (and again).

This was so much fun to play with! Maia drew and doodled; oohed and ahhed. We drew Valentine's for each other, back and forth. Maia experimented with thick and thin lines, dots, and even painting the entire board black—all to see if it would really disappear the next time. Of course, it did.

Here are some photos from the afternoon…

This Japanese Brush Painting set (item #A352) includes the framed "canvas" that you paint on, a brush, and a stand. It was sent to us by For Small Hands, a company that sells Montessori tools, products, and games for families. If you are a teacher, you probably know their sister company, Montessori Services, which caters to schools and teachers.

Disclosure: The brush painting set was sent to me to try out for free; all opinions expressed are my own.

Would you like your own Japanese Brush Painting set?

For Small Hands is offering one as a giveaway to one lucky winner. To enter, simply leave a comment to this post by Friday, February 3rd at 11:49pm EST. Winner will be chosen by random number generator and announced here on Saturday morning. This giveaway is open to readers who live in the United States, US provinces, and Canada. I will e-mail the winner directly as well, so if you use the facebook sign-in option then please put your e-mail address in the body of the comment. Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed.

The random number generator gave me #92, so Kari wins the Japanese Brush Painting set. Congrats!