Water Balloon Painting: Outdoor Summer Art Activity

This water balloon painting art activity is brought to you by Jean of The Artful Parent.

Kids love water balloons.

Surely we can just state this as a fact, right? Up there with we all need plenty of hugs, sleep and chocolate?

My two girls and their friends go through crazy amounts of water balloons during the warm weather months. Half of the fun seems to be filling them at the outdoor spigot. (If they waited for me to fill the water balloons, I’m afraid they wouldn’t be using them nearly as often as they’d like.

Once the balloons are filled, they use them for everything from the expected (throwing) to the unexpected (as babies, as a pinata, in the sandbox, on the light table, and now as a method of painting.

Water Balloon Painting

This idea of painting with water balloons was inspired by my children’s love of water balloons but it’s an idea that I came up with and suggested.

My four-year-old and two of her preschool friends were on board as soon as I mentioned the words WATER BALLOONS and SWIMMING POOL. (This activity is best done with three or more people, but two will work in a pinch.) I asked them to get dressed in swimming suits first with the idea that we’d follow the art activity with water play for clean up and summer fun.

MATERIALS

Water balloons, filled with water, but not so full that they are about to burst*
Kiddie pool (the hard plastic kind; see the end of the post for alternate ideas if you don’t have one)
Large piece of paper (such as butcher paper) or cardboard
Tempera paint
Masking tape

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Tape the paper down to the bottom of the swimming pool.

2. Fill small dishes 1/3-1/2 full with paint.

3. Dip water balloons in paint part or all the way and set on the paper-covered bottom of the pool.

4. Next, the kids take position around the pool, lift it up, and tilt the pool back and forth and around to make the paint-covered water balloons roll around and make designs on the paper.

5. When the painting is deemed complete, set the pool down, remove the water balloons, and then remove the painting to a safe place to let dry.

6. Fill the pool with water to wash it, the kids, and the water balloons!

VARIATIONS with WATER BALLOONS

If you or your neighbors don’t have a hard plastic kiddie pool, then consider these options:

Tape a long sheet of paper to a slide and roll paint-covered water balloons down it. Prepare for a burst balloon at the end or place a bucket at the bottom to catch them.
Do this activity on a smaller scale with a large baking sheet with sides or a plastic storage container that you have around the house.
Tape or weigh down a large sheet of paper to the ground (patio, garage floor, etc) then roll the paint covered water balloons across the paper from different sides. Or, if you’re brave, consider filling water balloons with paint then throwing them at the paper.

*Note: We all know the tendency of water balloons to break. It didn’t happen when we did this art activity but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen during the art process. Don’t let this derail you, just accept it as part of the activity and observe how the burst balloon waters down the paint design in places.

VARIATIONS with OTHER ROUND OBJECTS

You can also make art by rolling other paint covered objects around on paper. Consider these variations:

ADDITIONAL CREATIVE INSPIRATION

The Artful Parent: Simple Ways to Fill Your Family’s Life with Art and Creativity
5 out of 5 Stars | 150+ Reviews

Art making is a wonderfully fun way for young children to tap into their imagination, deepen their creativity, and explore new materials, all while strengthening their fine motor skills and developing self-confidence. The Artful Parent has all the tools and information you need to encourage your children’s creativity through art.

You’ll learn how to set up an art space, how to talk to children about their artwork, how to choose the best art supplies (withoutbreaking the bank), how to repurpose and organize the piles of art created, and even how to use kids’ art activities to soften everyday transitions.

The more than sixty engaging kids’ arts and crafts projects included here are accessible and developmentally appropriate for one- to eight-year-olds, and they’re a far cry from the cookie-cutter crafts many of us did in school as kids. From bubble prints to musical chairs art, these kids art activities allow children to explore art materials, techniques, and ideas as they grow more creative every day. With activities for downtimes, action art for releasing energy, and recipes for making your own art materials, this book is your guide for raising an artful family.

Jean Van’t Hul is the author of the book The Artful Parent: Simple Ways to Fill Your Family’s Life with Art & Creativity as well as the chief kids art enabler at The Artful Parent. Check out her directory of Kids Arts and Crafts Activities for more than 500 fun, artful ideas for children.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”