Coming back inside for our February Playdate Review. By now, I’m sure our kids are wondering why we keep taking them on all these surprise trips.

Quick review: The playdates need to be a something new that the kids have never done before. They need to be a more-involved playdate activity and have a combination of cognitive/motor/social skills and sensory integration. While I’m sure a normal playdate at the park will do just fine, we also want to help promote some cool activities and spots around our city.

Splatter Studio opened in Atlanta around three years ago, and recently opened a location in Sandy Springs. While I’ve been to Splatter Studio before for my birthday a couple years ago, they now have Family Sundays, where you get a free child ticket with the purchase of one adult ticket. Kids have to be under 13 years old, and you each get to take home your own masterpiece.

This playdate was a little different since I also had visiting family. So along with Mary, me and the three kids, we also had my mom and brother. I thought this would be weird at first, but it actually worked out very well. My brother painted with us and was our additional photographer. My mom could also help A&Z with their paint and clean up when I was a little too messy to handle both kids at once, on top of doing my own canvas.

The studio is huge and has space for multiple groups of painters. We arranged ourselves in a corner and had the three kids right in a row. Each station had one canvas, 16 different paint colors, and multiple brushes, bottles, and paint guns to create your own Jackson Pollack. We also plastic ponchos, shoe covers, hairnets and gloves. The kids opted not to go with the shoe covers (since they were too big) and did it barefoot. Tickets go for one hour, but it took us about 90 minutes including setup and cleanup.

First the OT:

The atmosphere is a true sensory experience from top to bottom. When you first walk in, you are greeted with floor to ceiling paint splatters covering the studio’s white walls. From a sensory standpoint, our visual system helps determine if a situation is going to be fun (Woohoo! Paint!) or something to dread (No! It’s paint. Ew.)

For many, this is an invitation to get messy in the most creative way possible, but for those who are tactile defensive, it serves as a caution that you WILL get messy. For our barefoot kids, not only did they get to experience the feel of wet paint on their feet, but the different textures on the floor from the all the acrylic paint buildup since the studio’s opening. As they immersed themselves in their creative masterpieces, they hardly noticed the paint on their hands, feet, or face until it was time to clean up.

A blank canvas can be intimidating, especially when you weren’t given any specifics other than “have fun”. For instance, the kids didn’t know what to really do initially, each peeking over to see what the other one was doing. It wasn’t until the music started playing that they were able to get out of their logical left-side brain and tap into their right-sided creativity. Not only does music activate the right-side brain, but it also promotes rhythm and timing. Sync that with a repetitive motion, like toe tapping or paint brushing, it creates regulation. That regulation provides safety and comfortability to explore thoughts, ideas, and imagination.

Although this activity certainly lends itself to some social engagement, particularly when flinging paint and accidentally getting some on your neighbor, it’s easy to get lost in your world. This state of being in the moment or being “in the zone” is referred to as flow: when an activity presents the right amount of challenge that allows one to become absorbed in what they’re doing. For A, we found his flow when Mary tried to talk to him, but he would not respond. It wasn’t that he was trying to ignore mom, but that he was so involved in what he was painting that everything else seemed to fade away. If he messed up, he didn’t get upset, but rather adjusted and adapted his creation until he felt it was complete.

What’s cool about painting is that it can provide insight into how your child thinks and operates. As we observed our kids’ creative processes, we noticed three different ways of dealing with a blank canvas. A initially painted the whole thing green, then orange, swirled it around, and then experimented with different colors and how to apply them. That took the whole hour. Aeris had a clear vision of what she wanted to paint, executing it her way with time to spare. With that extra time, she preferred to paint on the walls with different colors so she didn’t mess up her work. Zelda, on the other hand, struggled with how she wanted her painting to be. Although she tried different ways and means to paint, it didn’t turn out the way she wanted it to.

Splatter painting promotes:

• Emotional and self-regulation. Who wouldn’t feel better after throwing some paint on canvas?
• Imagination and creativity
• Problem-solving. If your child messes up, how can they fix it? Can they work with the mistake?
• Hand-eye coordination. Do you have any idea how hard it is to accurately aim and fire a soaker gun full of paint at a canvas?
• Body and spatial awareness. Your kid is figuring out how much force to use when squirting a bottle or flinging paint. They also are trying to avoid splattering on others.

The Parent Part:

Keep in mind that you will probably spend a good 10 minutes brainstorming with your kid. They will probably be looking at the walls, at other painters, trying to take cues because it looks like you actually want them to throw paint; something they would mostly likely never be allowed to do at home.

The great Splatter Studio staff goes through the rules and techniques of how you can splatter. Don’t be surprised if your kid wants to get their hands on the paint gun first.

About 15-20 minutes in, your kid is going to wonder what’s next. You are probably looking at the gobs of paint running down the canvas and thinking they already overdid it. Good news is mostly likely they haven’t hit that point yet. I’ve seen adults go at these canvases and it looks like they are just wasting a ton of perfectly good paint. I don’t think any of our three got that bad.

The question that you probably won’t be able to answer is “Am I done?”. You really can’t say. It is entirely up to your kid. Aeris made a very simple rainbow and didn’t do any actual splattering. Z had a harder time figuring out what she wanted, but experimented the entire hour. I actually thought I was done and at the last minute, took a brush and made a design. Still don’t know how I landed on that, but be prepared for your kid to be unsure of their creation.

If your kid is unsure about where to start, I suggest having them pick 2-3 paint colors (not including the neutral black and white) and staying in that palette.

Another thing to keep in mind is this is not the time to be a clean-freak. Your kid is in all the protective gear. There are sinks and soap and paper towels. This is, first and foremost, supposed to be messy. Your kid is going to test their limits creatively and sensory-wise. Wear grubby clothes and remember paint will wash off.

You will mostly likely be with other painters, although maybe not in as close quarters, so there are some social rules. Be mindful of the communal paint and keep your tools clean. Stay within your designated station and don’t paint fight.

Verdict: Recommended

Overall, our kids loved this playdate. It was interesting to see how each kid took on the challenge and figured out how they wanted to paint. They were excited to hang their art in their rooms and asked to go back again for Blacklight splatter night since they had new and better ideas of what they wanted. Learn more on the Splatter Studio website.

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Catch more photos and video of our trip to Splatter Studio on Instagram @childish_advice.

Check out our other Playdate Reviews.
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