Midnight Mom: Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors byThe Pencil Grip, Inc. *REVIEW*

When it comes to school supplies, there are two things I just can't pass up, good books and art supplies. When I saw that The Pencil Grip, Inc. makes a product we have never tried before, I knew we needed to test these out!

Tempera paint is one of my go-to's for art projects. It's vibrant, dries fast and washes easily-- basically it's great for kids. I never knew that solid tempera paint sticks even existed, but that's what Thin Stix are. The set we used are the Thin Stix 6pk of Classic Colors.

This set comes with yellow, red, green, blue, black and brown. These Thin Stix are about the size of a marker and have a blunt, crayon like end. They are really easy to hold and perfect for little hands. Depending on the angle you move the tip, you can achieve both fine and thick lines.

I found these to be much smoother to use than I expected. I anticipated them being more crayon-like. Really, they are super smooth and almost feel like you are coloring with a glue stick. They have held up to scribbling, smashing and all other sorts of art shenanigans. They dry super fast, in only 90 seconds. Even when they are wet, they are only sticky. It is so easy for littles to catch a sleeve or elbow on their paintings, but these have minimal mess involved. They are non-toxic and they wash off easily if needed.

We even experimented with color mixing. These dry super fast, so they are not ideal for mixing. It is possible though. We drew with two colors and then used a finger to mix. My kids enjoyed experimenting with what other colors they could make. Kwik Stix makes tons of other colors too, even metallic ones. I also learned that if any other color gets on the stix, you can easily wipe it off with a paper towel or a finger.

We have been focusing a lot on our nature study recently. We are really blessed to live in a place where we can step outside and learn so much. We packed a lunch, Thin Stix, paper and our lesson down to the creek. Generally, we use portable field watercolors to paint outside. For this lesson though, I thought the Thin Stix would be perfect.

While the kids ate, we talked about what the riparian zone is and why it is important. We identified where our stream, riparian zone and uplands are. My goal was then to have the kids draw this and label the zones.

They did a great job using the Thin Stix to paint the stream, mud/sand, rocks, willow trees and the grassy field. These worked really well for this project. They are so easy to grab and go and would fit perfect in a backpack. There was no water needed, so nothing extra to pack. We were on rocky and uneven ground and I didn't need to worry about anything tipping over or paint running. Best of all, NO MESS at all. These aren't super ideal for detail work, but this project was more about identifying the zones, not about detailed painting.

The kids really enjoyed using these. My daughter has since used them every day. She loves to paint and I love to encourage her to be creative. However, I don't always love the sometimes epic mess. She can get these out by herself, use them and then put them away with zero mess or spills. The caps need to be securely attached or they will dry out. They are easy to put on though, even for a four year-old. I love that they make art more accessible for my kids. These would be absolutely perfect for toddlers even, as they are easy to grip.